Locals blame security lapses for ADF attacks

From June 6 to December 27, 2023, Kasese and Kamwenge districts in western Uganda experienced a series of attacks by suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels.

At least 64 people have been killed in the attacks including 38 students from Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Secondary School, six community members, two tourists and their guide, who doubled as a driver and two occupants of a vehicle that was set ablaze enroute to Bwera.

In the six months, the two districts were targeted six times, with the most recent incidents occurring in Kamwenge on December 19 and 25, resulting in 13 deaths.

The December 19 attack occurred in Kitehurizi Village. Ten people were killed in the attack. Meanwhile, the December 25 attack resulted in the death of three people.

Earlier on December 5, suspected ADF rebels attacked and killed Betty Biira, a resident of Kasese. The rebels also reportedly abducted another resident identified as Aston Agaba, whose body was later discovered in Kibale National Park.

The attacks have caused fear within the affected communities with some deciding to flee the area.

The residents have also accused the government of not doing enough to stop the attacks in the area for good.

On November 30, 2021, the government commenced Operation Shujaa aimed at hunting down the ADF in eastern DRC.

However, the residents and leaders from the two districts say the rebels are still finding their way into the country.

They blamed this on numerous gaps in security which they say require immediate attention and rectification.

Mr Johncation Muhindo, the team leader at Creations Forum Afrika (CAF), a peace-building organisation in the Rwenzori Sub-region, says security agencies and the government as a whole must reassess their operational strategies.

He says the government should not merely declare its efforts to eliminate the ADF; rather, these efforts should be palpable in keeping the ADF at bay and preventing successful attacks on the people.

“You see, they keep asserting that the ADF rebels are cowards who attack innocent people instead of confronting the armed forces. However, we need to recognise that the primary responsibility of this government is to protect people and their property,” Mr Muhindo says.

He appealed to the government and security agencies to re-evaluate their methods of gathering intelligence in the pursuit of these rebels.

“When you examine the attacks carried out by the ADF, it becomes evident that this conflict has evolved beyond full-scale combat. It has become a game of intelligence, a battle of knowledge against the enemy,” he says.

He adds: “While the government has announced plans to recruit Local Defence Units (LDUs) in the most affected areas, which is not inherently a bad thing, I believe that a more substantial investment in intelligence gathering could produce more effective results.”

Currently, the government is recruiting LDUs to enforce security.

Mr John Mumbere, a resident of Kidodo Cell in Central Division, Kasese Municipality, says the army has failed to provide an account of its operations to the population and to hold some individuals accountable for their inactions.

He believes that certain intelligence officers should take responsibility for their lapses. He cites the attack on Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Secondary School, where Maj Gen Dick Olum, the commander of Operation Shujaa, says the attackers had been within the community for about three days before executing the attack.

“What has happened to the Government Internal Security Officer (GISO) and Police Internal Security Officer (PISO), and other members of the intelligence network who failed to detect the wrong elements that stayed in the community that long?” Mr Mumbere says.

He adds: “Were they tasked to explain? But also, has the UPDF, for example, explained why the ADF could carry out a daring attack just a few meters from the Rusese barracks, and they go unhurt?”

The Katholhu attack in Kasese happened a few metres away from an army barracks. The assailants fired several bullets at the passengers of the vehicle and later set it on fire but by the time the soldiers arrived, the rebels were long gone.

 In Nyabugando, where the rebels attacked a school, witnesses say the security personnel arrived at the scene nearly two hours after the incident.

In the recent attacks in Kamwenge District, security officials attribute the success of the rebels to Kibale National Park, where the assailants reportedly hide after carrying out their attacks.

Both Nyabitusi 1 and Kitehurizi, the two villages targeted in the recent attacks, share a border with Kibale National Park.

Additionally, three other sub-counties and town councils, including Kahunge, Kamwenge, Bigodi, and Busiliba, also share borders with the park and residents say they are at high risk of being attacked.

Mr Yunani Muhwezi, the Kamwenge Sub-county councillor, says of the 31 villages in the sub-county, approximately four are not adjacent to the park.

“The best solution is to have a permanent army detachment in the area. If not, our people will keep being attacked by ADF rebels. Our request is more deployment,” he says.

The Kamwenge District Woman Member of Parliament, Ms Sylvia Bahireira, says: “We need a sufficient force that can fight these rebels such that our people can be able to return to their families and do their work.”

The Kamwenge Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr Isiah Byarugaba Kanyamahane, acknowledges the challenges posed by the rebels’ tactics.

He, however, says: “We have security, but I still have much hope that we shall soon capture or kill these rebels.”

He adds that they have asked the government to provide a standby force established near the park.

Mr Kanyamahane also raised concern over some residents who may be collaborating with the district, saying it is starnge that a group of ADF rebels could kill people, steal items, and escape without being apprehended.

Porous borders

Apart from the main border at Mpondwe, which connects Uganda and the DRC, Kasese District has several other porous borders as more than six of its sub-counties share a border with DRC.

The sub-counties include Ihandiro, Isango, Karambi, Bwera, and Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Town Council.

Residents and leaders say many of the porous borders have no security personnel watching over them to prevent unwanted individuals from crossing into the country.

The River Lhubiriha, originating from Mountain Rwenzori, also acts a border for the two countries. On the Ugandan side, it borders Queen Elizabeth National Park, while on the DRC side, it borders Virunga National Park.

Residents are calling for increased security measures to prevent security breaches in the region.

The Kasese District deputy RDC, Rtd Lt Maate Magwara, acknowledges the existence of porous borders, particularly in Isango Sub-county.

He emphasizes the challenges of deploying soldiers to all these porous borders, but highlighted the importance of community cooperation in sharing information with security forces.

Some of the porous borders without security include Kafalasi, Kaghombyo, Kyuna, Kasesa, Kasinga, Kibirigha, Kibati, Kyabihondo, Bulhambayiri, Bulemba, Busolhu, and Kyapa.

Valleys on River Lhubiriha and Muruseghe are also identified as potential hideouts for intruders.

Mr Moses Tsutsu, the chairperson for Isango Sub-county, highlighted several illegal entry borders and urged increased security presence.

In Kitholhu Sub-county, six porous border points including Kasinga, Kisabu, Musangania, Kararo, Kahuha, and Kibati, continue to pose a threat.

Maj Gen Olum, however, says it is impractical to deploy forces on the entire 600-kilometre Uganda-DRC border.

Addressing journalists in Ituri province, eastern DRC, on November 29, 2023, Maj Gen Olum noted that ADF rebels use attacks on the Ugandan side as diversionary tactics to shift focus away from pursuing them in eastern DRC. “They intended to make us believe that they were in Uganda, which was the case,” he said.

LDU recruitment

The UPDF spokesperson, Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye, announced on December 26 that the recruitment of Local Defence Units (LDU) is underway in response to President Museveni’s directive to combat ADF rebels in the Rwenzori Sub-region.

Mr James Birungi, appointed to oversee the recruitment process in Kamwenge, Bunyangabu, and Kitagwenda districts, says the recruitment process started before Christmas and had already identified 530 individuals out of the required 600 in Kamwenge District.

“I have many hopes that these people will work because their sole role is to provide timely information and guard the people. In the list we have, there are veterans who fought wars, and they know how to use guns. This time the work will be made easy; they will be responding first before UPDF arrives on the ground,” he said.

Rebels killed and captured

Following the attack on two tourists and their guide in the Queen Elizabeth National Park, a Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) operation unfolded on the night of October 31 on Lake Edward.

 This operation resulted in the killing of two suspected ADF rebels, while another individual named Njove was captured alive.

UPDF has since identified Njove as the key suspect in the killing of the tourists and their driver.

President Museveni said seven other suspected rebels had fled to Kibale National Park.

 Subsequently, UPDF initiated an operation against them on December 13. The UPDF deputy spokesperson, Col Deo Akiiki, later confirmed the killing of two suspected rebels during this operation.

Col Akiiki said the dead were part of the group responsible for the attack on December 5 in Nkoko Village, where 47-year-old Biira Betty was killed. The assailants also injured her 14-year-old nephew, Harrison Masereka.

The UPDF also later managed to kill another three rebels.

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