President Yoweri Museveni has warned that he will not tolerate anybody engaged in criminal acts of murder, rape, destruction of State and people’s property or those who soil the name of Uganda. He said his government would handle anybody engaging in criminal acts decisively and without compromise.

The President who is on a four day working visit to Rwenzori region was today speaking at a meeting he held with political and opinion leaders from Bundibugyo district at Fort Portal State Lodge in Fort Portal Municipality.

President Museveni said that government will not engage in discussion with anybody engaged in criminal acts of murder and rape against the people of Uganda. He also said that those who destroy the properties of the state and ordinary citizens and tarnish the country’s image internationally would not be spared.

The Presidents remarks come shortly after he made a security assessment tour of Bundibugyo district right from Lamia at the border with the DR Congo, meeting and interacting with citizens. The President also made a stopover at one of the most popular tourist sites in the district to ensure business was going on normally.

Museveni said that matters of criminality are not for political discussion and compromise and that they must be dealt with in accordance with the law.

“No one has a right to kill or rape a Ugandan not even to abuse a Ugandan. Nobody has a right to damage someone’s property not even someone’s chicken. No one should tarnish the name of Uganda and scare away business people and tourists. We shall not have any discussion or compromise on the above,” he said.

The meeting was also attended by the State minister for Primary Education and outgoing Bwamba County MP, Hon. Dr. Kamanda Bataringaya.

“You kill a Ugandan or rape a woman and you want us to call you for a discussion? Leave that to me as President, I will handle it myself because with peace and security there is nothing to discuss. I think we have been a bit relaxed but it’s time we go back to the National Resistance Movement core principle; where no matter who you are you should never infringe on the rights of other Ugandans  especially the right to life” he said.

President Museveni used the occasion to appeal to the people of the Rwenzori region to live together in peace and harmony and reject sectarianism just like they have been for centuries and oppose the false prophets that are sowing the seeds of sectarianism for their selfish interests.

“Your ancestors have harmoniously lived in this region for centuries and complimented each other in their way of life, trading with each other and contributing to each other’s prosperity. Whose culture are you copying that is so divisive and sectarian? It is not founded in your history and heritage,” he said.

He warned them against the habit of revenge and said that it was a duty of the state to exercise justice on behalf of the citizens in accordance with the law. He said anyone revenging on their behalf was committing a crime and will equally face the law.

President Museveni further advised the people of Rwenzori region to stop dragging cultural leaders into partisan politics and public administration noting that those should be a reserve of the political class who are elected and can be held accountable and voted out of leadership in case they perform poorly.

“I don’t want to be part of that political confusion that mix politics and cultural matters because that is what resulted into the 1966 political crisis in Uganda” he warned.

Stories Continues after ad

President Yoweri Museveni has stressed that Uganda needs more electricity to boost the manufacturing sector that will in turn provide employment to the country’s growing population.

“We want electricity now especially in the manufacturing sector. Our population is growing and we have to get jobs for them,” Mr Museveni said.

The President was speaking today while meeting a delegation of the Norwegian hydro power investors led by the Chief Executive Officer of SN Power Company Mr. Torger Lien.

Other members of the delegation at the meeting that took place at State Lodge in Fort-portal included Ambassador Johnny Carson, the Senior Vice President and Head of Exploration in the SN Power Company Mr. Torb Jorn E. Kirkeby_Garstad and the President of Sithe Global, Brian H. Kubeck.

Dr. Kevin K Kariuki, Head of Infrastructure Industrial Promotion Services (Kenya) Limited also attended the meeting.

SN Power is in the process of taking over the development of Bujagali hydro-power station in Jinja from Sithe Global Company.

President Museveni thanked the Agha Khan group and partners for the initial development of Bujagali hydro-power station that helped in curbing load shedding.

He added that apart from peace and security, development of the railway line and good roads, electricity is another important element in the country’s economic development as it contributes to lowering costs of production and doing business in general.

Mr Museveni assured the Norwegian investors of a conducive investment environment in the country as well as government’s support to their venture.

Stories Continues after ad

President Yoweri Museveni, who is currently in the Rwenzori Sub-Region in Western Uganda on a security assessment tour, has directed the immediate increased deployment of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and the Police Force in the border district Bundibugyo after complaints from the people of the area about the deteriorating security situation in that district.

The President, accompanied by the First Lady Janet Museveni, who is also Minister for Karamoja Affairs, arrived in the region yesterday and went up to Lamia border post on the Uganda/Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) border. President Museveni, who was also accompanied by the UPDF’s 2^nd Division Commander, Brigadier Peter Elweru and the Rwenzori Regional Police Commander, immediately directed the UPDF and the Police to increase their forces in Bundibugyo in order to ensure that peace, security and sanity is restored in the district without further delay.

“That’s why I came here. I have heard your security concerns and I have directed the Army and the Police to deploy heavily and ensure peace and security returns and people go back to their homes. We can’t entertain banditry and we can’t negotiate with bandits. They either come out or we shall get them out of their hide outs,” Mr Museveni said.

The President addressed hundreds of people, both Ugandan and Congolese nationalities and also made inquiries and interacted with the people on the security situation at the Uganda-DRC border point and the neighboring areas in general.

Although not many complaints were raised on border security, Congolese nationals petitioned President Museveni to prevail over Uganda immigration officials who stop DRC nationals from freely crossing into Uganda to do business in the country.

President Museveni promised Congolese nationals that he will discuss the matter with the DRC authorities but added that he has no objection to the matter since Congolese and Ugandans are the same people.

“Ugandans and Congolese are one people with the same heritage and most of you at the border speak one language and are related. These are mere colonial boundaries. I don’t see why you shouldn’t work together freely,” he said.

Several people that the President talked to on the numerous stopovers that he made at Busunga border town, Kabutabure Trading Centre, Nyahuka Town Council, Kayengye Trading Centre and in Bundibugyo Municipality, complained of the presence of several criminals and bandits in the region who specially come from the mountainous Rwenzori areas to terrorize villages in the low laying land areas killing people, looting their property and causing unacceptable insecurity.

“It is only the towns that are peaceful but people have been terrorized and have abandoned their homes in villages to stay in towns where there is Police presence that is also not enough,” Bundibugyo residents told the President.

“Wrong elements have even disconnected the water supply system from the mountains cutting water supply to Bundibugyo Town,” the Resident District Commissioner of Bundibugyo, Geoffrey Mucunguzi told the President.

Earlier, President Museveni made a brief stop at Sempaya tourist site and toured Nyansimbi hot springs in Semuliki National Park. Mr. Moses Rukiza, a ranger at the Park, conducted him on the tour of the hot springs.

Rukiza told the President that the waters at the hot springs offer one of the most prominent tourist attractions in Semuliki National Park and boil up to 97 degrees. He also told him that the hot spring of Nyansimbi is historically known to be the ancestral origin of the Bamaga clan of the Bamba tribe of Bundibugyo district.

According to Rukiza, due to the importance that the clan attaches to the hot spring, the Bamaga clan members visit the hot spring annually in the month of November to seek blessings for their children, for wealth and many others supplications. The President commended the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) workers at Sempaya tourist site for their good work in the tourism sector in particular and to the country as a whole.

Stories Continues after ad

President Yoweri Museveni, who is currently in the Rwenzori Sub-Region in Western Uganda on a security assessment tour, has directed for immediate increased deployment of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and the Police Force in the border district Bundibugyo after complaints from the people of the area about the deteriorating security situation.

The President, accompanied by the First Lady Hon. Janet Museveni who is also Minister for Karamoja Affairs, arrived in the region yesterday and went up to Lamia border post on the Uganda/Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) border. He addressed hundreds of people, both Ugandan and Congolese nationalities and also made inquiries and interacted with the people on the security situation at the Uganda-DRC border point and the neighboring areas in general.

Although not many complaints were raised on the border security, Congolese nationals petitioned President Museveni to prevail over Uganda immigration officials who stop DRC nationals from freely crossing into Uganda to do business in the country.

President Museveni promised Congolese nationals that he will discuss the matter with the DRC authorities but added that he has no objection to the matter since Congolese and Ugandans are the same people.

“Ugandans and Congolese are one people with the same heritage and most of you at the border speak one language and are related. These are mere colonial boundaries. I don’t see why you shouldn’t work together freely,” he said.

Several people that the President talked to on the numerous stopovers that he made at Busunga border town, Kabutabure Trading Centre, Nyahuka Town Council, Kayengye Trading Centre and in Bundibugyo Municipality, complained of the presence of several criminals and bandits in the region who specially come from the mountainous Rwenzori areas to terrorize villages in the low laying land areas killing people, looting their property and causing unacceptable insecurity.

“It is only the towns that are peaceful but people have been terrorized and have abandoned their homes in villages to stay in towns where there is Police presence that is also not enough,” Bundibugyo residents told the President.

“Wrong elements have even disconnected the water supply system from the mountains cutting water supply to Bundibugyo Town,” the Resident District Commissioner of Bundibugyo, Mucunguzi Geoffrey told the President.

President Museveni, who was accompanied by the UPDF’s 2nd Division Commander, Brigadier Peter Erweru and the Rwenzori Regional Police Commander, immediately directed the UPDF and the Police to increase their forces in Bundibugyo in order to ensure that peace, security and sanity is restored in the district without further delay.

Stories Continues after ad