UPDF statement on ADF not good for business

In a statement dated Monday, March 18, 2024, the UPDF issued it was revealed that a group of ADF rebels had infiltrated the country.

It was also frozen in Col Deo Akiiki’s voice in an audio clip. Mr Amos Wekesa, a promoter of the tourism industry as the potential engine of economic growth, faulted the ‘wording’ of the UPDF statement and took to X to express his frustrations. Here is part of his posts.

“Am a strong believer in the potential of the UPDF to deal with any situation in this country and it’s for two reasons: they have some of the best trained professionals; plus they get a big part of tax payers’ money. But the continuous use of the word ‘terrorism’ kills business.”

“When you continually use the word ‘terrorism’, you render the country hopeless in the international eyes. International business is put on hold immediately and since we import internationally, we sink. Tourism has failed to take off because of this word and we don’t seem to see.”

“Leadership spends so much on efforts looking for foreign investors but continues to undermine their own efforts. A country that continues to communicate badly exposes investments to risks. In the last 4 years, we have had Covid-19, Ebola, ADF etc and we haven’t worked as an industry (which is sad). We have struggled keeping jobs.”

“Next year is dead because it’s a political year and this (year) was the only year we were hoping to use to save to keep businesses afloat (for next year). We all suffer when the country has no international business and purchasing power dies hence affects all efforts”.

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Before this statement on ADF, the UPDF had issued another eyebrow- raising statement about issues related to the current war in eastern DR Congo. Given the issues concerning a friendly neighbouring country, the statement lacked diplomatic decorum. As a response to some flimsy accusations from the DRC, a phone call to a responsible DRC official would have sufficed.

The tone, tune and texture of these statements from UPDF seem to be addressing a Ugandan audience. But it is very improbable that Ugandans take these statements very serious; that’s why none of the people I spoke to seem to have identified an anomally in the third paragraph of the statement on ADF infiltration.

The paragraph reads as follows: “Our attacks on the ADF terrorists in eastern DRC have not stopped. Joint intelligence forces have now confirmed that two days ago (that should be Saturday, March 16, 2024), another group has infiltrated the country with the same mission.

The group is suspected to be under the command of a notorious ADF commander Ahmed Muhamood Hassan aka Abu Waqas, a Tanzanian born ADF bomb expert.

Others include Muhammed Issa, Amigo Kibirige aka Simba, Muhamad Lumia and Nasser Hamid Diiru and one of them is suspected to have been sent by Abu Waqas for the current mission.

What is the payload (message) from this paragraph? The syntax, the phraseology (least said of the punctuation) is so clumsy that it clouds the information that was supposed to be delivered.

Is Ahmed Muhamood Hassan (Abu Waqas) the commander and part of the group that infiltrated the country last Saturday? If the said Abu Waqas is commanding the infiltrators on Ugandan soil, it then sounds illogical that “one of them (infiltrators under his command) is suspected to have been sent by Abu Waqas”.

Dear reader, if all those guys mentioned in the statement have infiltrated the country (as our good people at UPDF GHQ) have told us, it is like the entire ADF ‘high command’ are now ‘confirmed’ to be on Ugandan soil. This would be equivalent to the CDF, CMI chief and CLF going for it at one go. It sounds very improbable. Clearly, that was raw information lacking analysis.

Asuman Bisiika is the executive editor of the East African Flagpost. [email protected]