President Museveni has said that the four-armed terrorists who attacked Kamwenge district and killed 10 people will pay for their crimes.
“The four pigs will pay for their crimes and so will all their associates if they do not surrender and abandon terrorism,” Museveni said in a statement on Wednesday.
The attack
According to SP Twesige Vicent, the Regional Police Spokesperson Rwenzori West, the attack by unknown assailants happened at 2:00 am on the early morning of December 19, 2023, in Kyitehurizi village, Kyabandara parish, Kamwenge sub-county, Kamwenge District, resulting in the loss of ten lives.
He identified the deceased persons as; Banyazaki Margaret, aged 60, another identified only as Tugume, a 25-year-old, and eight others yet to be identified.
“Preliminary findings reveal that ten assailants, armed with SMG rifles, attacked and fatally burnt ten people in Kyitehurizi trading centre, Kyabandara parish, Kamwenge sub-county, located near Kibale National Park,” Twesige revealed.
He added: “After the incident, the assailants broke into the store of Baguma Richard, 35 years old, and looted 300 kgs of beans, a sack of Irish potatoes, 03 trays of eggs, and 50 kgs of maize. They also set ablaze a motorcycle Reg No. UFC 851T.”
He said the assailants then headed towards Kibale National Park.
“Upon receiving the information, our officers responded to the scene immediately, deploying canine units alongside UPDF Personnel. A manhunt led by Joint Security Agencies is currently underway.”
Museveni speaks
In a Wednesday statement, Museveni started by condemning the attack around the huge Kibaale forest.
“The 10 were crop night watchmen against monkeys from the forest and some Bavuumbi (those who go for alcohol sessions). The latter were found in a small village bar. One young girl escaped from the killers. More could have escaped if they had been sensitized not to be docile when confronted by these killers.”
He went on: “Those 4 killers are the remnants of the Njovu-Kamusu group of 10 that entered Uganda from Congo’s second round, some weeks ago. They had crossed back to Congo but came back. They are the group that killed the children of Nyabugaando School, killed the two tourists and their driver and burnt the onion truck. Two of them were killed in the waters of Lake Edward by the marines and their leader Njovu was injured, captured and is now facing charges in court.”
According to the President, about a week ago, the CMI and the SFC Commandos destroyed a squad of 3 of that group including Kamusu who had replaced Njovu as the group leader. Kamusu was shot although we have not seen his dead body yet.
The other two dead bodies and their guns were abandoned by the terrorists at the encounter point.
“On account of these repeated atrocities by these infiltrators from Congo, I have directed the UPDF to reactivate the force of the LDUs in the areas surrounding Queen Elizabeth National Parks, Kibaale Forests, the forests in Kyenjojo and Kagadi, Semuliki National Park and Bwindi National Park.”
“Since the terrorists cowardly attack soft targets in the form of unarmed civilians, we are reactivating our old method of transforming the village soft targets into lethal local hard points. We are not short of manpower. It only means deploying more resources to support the manpower.”
Museveni further revealed that in the meantime, UPDF’s various air platforms attacked the terrorist leaders in Congo － at Km 80 from the border.
“We shall get the results after some days. They are paying for their bankruptcy. I have directed the State House Comptroller (SHC) to send financial support to each of the families that lost their loved ones in Kamwengye and also to the girl who escaped from the killers and reported the incident.”
He said the Woman MP for Kamwengye will co-ordinate this support with the office of the SHC.
“The terrorists were killing people using pangas because they were fearing to use bullets that would alert the population that is hostile to them. Therefore, the girl who escaped must be saluted. She is the one who alerted the area. I have asked the Woman MP and the SHC to bring her to me so that I can meet her and thank her for her bravery.”