The Bushenyi District Security Committee has decided to deploy the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces-UPDF in order to enhance security in the district. This decision comes in response to the discovery of handwritten leaflets, believed to be from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
Leaflets were recently dropped in Kyamuhunga Secondary School, Kyamuhunga Central, and Kabingo Model Primary Schools in Bushenyi District. The leaflets serve as a warning, stating that the ADF will launch an attack on the schools if they do not close within a two-week period. Additionally, the leaflets threaten to take the lives of any teachers or students who choose to remain at the schools after the given deadline.
The committee has decided to implement full-time joint patrols of police and UPDF, establish checkpoints on major urban and rural roads, conduct screenings of residents, and enforce strict access control for public spaces and events.
Bushenyi Resident District Commissioner Robert Atuhairwe is optimistic that the deployment of UPDF in the District will beef up police and private security teams had guarantee security for all residents and installations. He however added that the committee is yet to agree on whether the soldiers can be deployed at schools to man the gates alongside the watchmen.
He added that through his office they are drafting regulations that will be communicated to schools through the District Education Officer to beef up security at all schools.
The Greater Bushenyi Police Spokesperson, Marcial Tumusiime, informed that head teachers have been advised to communicate with parents through the PTA and School Management Committees while awaiting guidelines from the office of the Resident District Commissioner. Additionally, a team of investigators from both the police and UPDF has been deployed to investigate the source of the leaflets.
Following the October 17 attack in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Kasese, leaflets have been distributed. The attack, carried out by suspected Allied Democratic Forces rebels, resulted in the loss of three lives.
