ADF Plotted to Attack Mourners at Gen Lokech’s Funeral-Museveni

President Museveni has said that a suspected suicide bomber who was arrested on Thursday in Pader Town council in Northern Uganda is linked to the Allied Democratic Forces-ADF.

A team of joint security personnel comprised of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence-CMI and Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce-JAT arrested a man identified as Abdul Katumba who was found in possession of materials allegedly used in making Improvised explosive Devises-IED. He was arrested on Thursday at Atimikica Guest House in Pader Town council.

Security teams said that the terrorist cell could have targeted the crowds that thronged Gen Lokech’s ancestral home of Paipir village in Pader Town Council ahead of his burial on Friday. In his condolence message read to mourners by the Internal Affairs Minister Gen Kahinda Otafire on Friday, President Museveni equally reiterated that ADF had sent the suicide bomber to kill mourners.

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President Museveni says Gen. Lokech had successfully broken ADF operations in the country and thereby became a prime target by the terrorist group operating from their hideout in the Eastern The Democratic Republic of Congo. He cited that Gen Lokech through his team of security personnel were swift in identifying and apprehending the suspects in the Gen Katumba Wamala’s shooting.

Museveni says that the speed of Gen Lokech’s work sent a shock to the ADF who were used to “uncaring actors that don’t dig deep even when the clues were abundant”.

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Museveni says the biggest threats of killing and insecurity are emanating from the ADF operating in the Eastern DRC adding that he is already discussing with his counterpart, Félix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo on plans of eliminating ADF. 

He adds that he will also move to have a discussion with the five permanent representatives of the UN security council from the East African Community that controls MONUSCO, a United Nations peacekeeping force in DRC.

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The ADF has been operational in the North Eastern DRC near the Ugandan border since the 1990’s and continues to carry out deadly attacks on civilians and military personnel in the troubled DR Congo. The group that is alleged to be having ties with the Islamic state-ISIS have been numerously blamed by the Ugandan government for being behind high-profile assassinations.

One of ADF prominent leaders Jamil Mukulu who was arrested in Tanzania in 2015 remains incarcerated in Uganda where he is accused of launching a rebellion that destabilized the Rwenzori sub-region.