The Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LOP), Mathias Mpuuga has appealed to Ugandans to cooperate with security agencies to fight and fail resurgence terror attacks.
Addressing the media at Parliament, Mpuuga noted that it is the responsibility of every Ugandan to be vigilant in these hard moments where terror threats have increased in the country.
“We want to encourage the population to cooperate with security because terror is indiscriminate, be vigilant and report appropriately,” Mpuuga said.
So far two bomb explosives have left two Ugandans dead and several injured after blasts in Komamboga a Kampala suburb and Swift bus which was traveling along Kampala-Masaka highway around Lungala in Mpigi.
Mpuuga wondered why the country’s security agencies didn’t take seriously an alert by the UK government of a possible terror attack and instead offered assurances of their readiness to deal with any form of threats.
“The attacks came on a back drop of advisory warnings from the UK governments to which our security responded with conviction that they are aware and ready. Readiness connoted the capacity to stop or avert the terror, but we are here grieving the loss of lives,” Mpuuga said.
The UK issued a security advisory on October 14, warning its national of a possible terror attack in Uganda targeting crowded and public places like hotels, transport hubs, restaurants and bars.
“One of the biggest challenges in fighting terror is by state actors, communicating in riddles because we have a dozen of them that are managing security in the country – each communicating variously and throwing the public into confusion. We invite the security agencies to give the country coherent and consistent information,” Mpuuga said.
He also appealed to the government to avoid using the resurgence of the terror as an opportunity to settle political scores.
“Whereas terrorism breeds desperation, it’s not the space of government to act desperately. When citizens are scared, the government has a duty to continue giving the public that they are in charge. When we hear stories of accusations without proper investigation including outpost accusations against political groupings, our understanding is that the government would have elected not to investigate but to act in heist and lose an opportunity to investigate and get to the bottom of the investigations,” the LOP said.