Kamwenge residents flee renewed ADF-linked raid

Residents in Kamwenge District’s villages have started fleeing after unknown attackers killed an elderly woman and her two grandchildren on Christmas night.

Security officials in the western district blamed the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) based in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for orchestrating the raid on the edges of Kibale National Park.

The attack happened in Nyabitusi Village I in Kamwenge, the second such ADF-linked onslaught in the within a week, leaving shaken residents seeking refuge in Kamwenge town and Nyabitusi Trading Centre.

The Kamwenge Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Isaiah Byarugaba Kanyamahane, said the deceased were members of the same family and that the assailants torched their house.

“Our security is following them [the assailants]. I have high hopes that they will be captured or killed. We also suspect that these rebels could have collaborators in the district. We are wondering how, after conducting an attack, they managed to carry huge volumes of merchandise,” he said.

He added that ADF rebels take advantage of Kibale National Park, and the households being attacked are located near the park, making it easy for rebels to retreat after the attack.

President Museveni, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has repeatedly explained that the infiltrators are remnants of ADF fleeing UPDF bombardment of their bases in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

“This morning [December 22] our aircraft were there attacking them…We are going to wipe out those groups and their leaders who are in Congo who send these young people to come and die here,” he told a media briefing last week, urging for vigilance during the festive season.

Ugandan troops, together with Congolese counterparts, have been hunting down fighters of the ADF, a DRC-based Ugandan rebel group that the United States has designated as a terrorist group.

It has since claimed loyalty to the Islamic State, and now goes by the alternate moniker Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP).

The government has not provided evidence linking the spate of attacks to ADF, and military commanders and spokespeople have assigned responsibilities hours after raids without evidence of investigations.

In the Christmas night attack in Kamwenge, the RDC, who chairs the district security committee, said still unknown assailants set ablaze the house and killed three out of five members of a family.

Those who perished included an elderly woman and her two grandchildren. Two others fled.  

“We are now looking into establishing a standby security force in the area because people are in the area doing cultivation,” the RDC said, echoing a Gen Museveni-announced plan to reactivate operations of Local Defence Units (LDUs) in hotspots.

In a separate interview, the Rwenzori West Police spokesperson, Mr Vincent Twesige, identified the deceased as 72-yeard-old Adrine Ngwabize and grandchildren Mathias Byamukama, 13, and Amon Niwalinda, 5.

Mr Twesige said the attackers who struck at 10pm numbered four, and only a pair carried guns.

They seized 50 heads of cattle in Rev George Bwajojo’s kraal, but the animals were repossessed during pursuit.

Mr Wilson Byaruhanga, a resident of Kyabandara Trading Centre and an in-law to the deceased Ngwabize, said he first spotted the attackers at about 8pm near Kibale National Park.

Mr Byaruhanga said he stealthily raced ahead of the group to alert the late Ngwabize, who was hosting his ailing wife Addi Akampurira. But his mother-in-law declined to flee, prompting him to move his wife and child to safety.

On his return, roughly an hour later, the mother-in-law’s how was in flames.

“I made an alarm, and people came [but couldn’t save the decease],” he said, pleading for government assistance, adding that their foodstuff was torched during the attack.

Mr Yonani Muhwezi arrived at the scene early the next morning, but said a cattle keeper close to Kibale National Park alerted them in time about movement of suspected ADF rebel and that the RDC was duly informed.

“[The RDC] promised to send security. However, when the security arrived, they did not reach the reported hiding place of the rebels; instead, they went to another location. In the morning, we received information that the house of Ngwabize] was set ablaze,” he noted.

Mr Muhwezi said he believed President Museveni was being given wrong information about the strength of ADF rebels who numbers he said they believed were higher than is officially reported, requiring a change in military tactics to deal with the infiltrators.

Kamwenge District Woman Sylvia Bahireira said to prevent the attacks, the government should establish army detachments in areas neighbouring national parks.

“These residents are living in fear. In one week we have heard two attacks, but our security has not arrested any rebel [yet] we have informed all security organs in the country including President Museveni that we need more security on the ground,” she said.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Geoffrey Katsigazi, who is a two-star military general, rushed to Kamwenge following the December 19 raid and, following security meeting jointly attended by various security and intelligence honchos in Rwenzori region, assured civilians of peace. 

He said security personnel would be massed up, more dogs from police’s canine unit deployed to track down outlaws and logistical support increased for security teams on the ground to match task at hand.

“After addressing all the gaps in their resources, I expect our security forces not to offer any excuses. Upon my return, I am committed to ensuring that they receive everything necessary to effectively carry out their duties,” he said.

But a week later, on Christmas, the story turned out different and heart-breaking: unknown attackers killed a septuagenarian and her grandchildren.

Despite initial assurances by Maj Gen Katsigazi, residents of Kitehurizi village, where the December 19 raid happened, followed by counterparts in Nyabitusi I village, attacked on Christmas, have continued fleeing, fearing fresh onslaughts.

Effects of attacks
 
Mr John Bosco Byaruhanga, a resident of Kitehurizi village, recounted a haunting incident from 1997 when fighters of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) group, who crossed via Kibale National Park killed his village mates.

He said after the attack the majority of the residents sold their land and migrated to other areas, leading to a significant population decline.

As a response to these events, those who acquired the vacated land opted to establish farms and plant trees.

However, it was only in recent years that the land started being leased to people for the cultivation of maize, beans, and other food crops.

Fast forward to June 16, 2023, Kamwenge became the second district invaded by suspected ADF fighters from their lairs inside the Democratic Republic of Congo, following the initial attack on Kasese District on the same day.

In the past six months, there have been a total of six raids --- four in Kasese, two in Kamwenge --- that the government blames on ADF rebels.

Fifty-one victims have perished in the attacks in Kasese, among them 38 students of Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Secondary School.

Two occupants of a truck were killed on October 14 on Bwera Road and two foreign tourists and their Ugandan guide/chauffeur were killed three days later inside Queen Elizabeth National Park.

On December 5, another attack unfolded in Nkoko village, Kistwamba Sub-county, resulting in the tragic death of an elderly woman, Betty Biira. A one Aston Agaba was abducted, and his lifeless body was later discovered in Kibale National Park.

Thirteen have died in two attacks in Kamwenge District --- 10 on December 19 and three on Christmas night.