UGANDA: Museveni army robberies shift base to Queen Elizabeth National Park

MUSEVENI'S ARMY ROBBERIES SHIFT BASE TO QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

CHANGE OF GUARDS - It is reported that last week on August 3rd unknown armed assailants waylaid a vehicle (Isuzu Canter) in which four were traveling in Queen Elizabeth national park. An unspecified amount of money was robbed. The incident was reported to have taken place at around 2 pm in the Queen Elizabeth National park near Southern gate army barracks. That four armed personnel dressed in Congolese army attire emerged and shot at the vehicle, Reg No UAB 196J that was carrying fish from Kasese. The fourth person, named Robert Mugabe was kidnapped and the captors used his phone number to demand a ransom of USD 20,000, an equivalent of Shs 76 million. They gave a Ugandan mobile phone number where they wanted the ransom to be sent.

The injured were admitted at Kihihi Health Centre V while Police together with sister security agencies swung into action in a hunt for those assailants. Four days later the Police reported that Mugabe was taken to a forest in neighboring DRC and later released after his family paid a ransom of USD 7,500 (Shs 28m) on August 7 at around 2pm when he was escorted by kidnapers to Ishasha border market where he was untied and let free.

That the victim told Police that while in the forest, he heard kidnappers speaking Rukiga, Runyankole and some bits of Kiswahili. He is reported to have further disclosed that he was served posho and beans once after the Shs 28m payment was made. The SIM card through which the transaction was made was later destroyed by kidnappers.

ANALYSIS
1. All the information about this incident is from a single police source, the South Western Regional Police Spokesperson. Because journalism in Uganda died, it's not easy to get independent information.

2. How can armed people donning Congolese army uniform stage a robbery ambush in broad daylight moreover near a well established UPDF barracks and manage to get away? Owing to the value attached to tourism, one would imagine heightened security in a national park.

3. Even if the kidnappers destroyed the SIM card to where the ransom money was sent, still why cant investigations trace the outlet where it was cashed?

Therefore, the information pertaining to this incident seems to have been distorted just for the sake of covering up for the Museveni soldiers who may be the suspects.

In May 2018 we posted an analysis of a similar incident here below:

Change of Guards

May 12, 2018 at 15.06

SOLDIER SHOT, GUN STOLEN WHILE ESCORTING SMUGGLERS

The suspect victim, 27 years Gloria Aminyo is attached to URA’s Customs Enforcement Unit in Kasese. On 8th May 2018, Aminyo set off from Mpondwe border post in Kasese at 2.30PM escorting an Isuzu truck loaded with Palm oil and Gonja bananas destined for DRC. They went through Queen Elizabeth National Park heading for Ishasha border post in Kanungu with Eminyo in the co-driver’s seat and the turn boy on top of the truck. At 11.00PM, when they were remaining with just one KM to reach Ishasha border, they were ambushed by armed robbers. The robbers shot Amenyo in the arm before running away with her AK 47 gun and other personal effects.

The period of nine hours (2.30p.m to 11.00 p.m) from Mpondwe to Ishasha is suspect. The only justifiable account is that the truck delayed somewhere in between as other contraband was being loaded. Most likely the truck was smuggling the banned but luxurious immature fish. You will recall that renown rally race and leading dealer in immature fish, Ponsiono Lwakataka narrowly survived being shot by soldiers attached to URA last year along the same route but his driver was not so lucky as he was instantly killed.

Otherwise, why would an armed female soldier solely escort a truck through a vast national park moreover at night. For Ugandans, just prepare to pay with your blood for the damage that will be done with the stolen AK 47. We are yet to see if the Court Martial will charge Amenyo with failure to protect war material and cowardice in action.

Obviously, the regime will as usual attempt to cover up by linking the incident to ADF rebels or any other imaginary armed insurgent group. I hope some idiot will not say the ambush was staged by Sam Mugumya who is under incarceration in DRC. But please recall what the alleged former leader of the ADF said in May 2018 at the High Court in Kampala;

"The government of Uganda sponsors ADF rebels but if it is a terror organisation, why do they support them with military logistics? They (government) sponsor them every month and it is a fact."

INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENISM