By Ibrahim Ddamulira
Kampala and neighboring areas are secure after the Special Forces Command (SFC), a lethal elite outfit of UPDF has taken over Kampala night security to avert any possible insecurity following the recall of Local Defence Unit (LDU) personnel from the city over indiscipline.
The Homeland Newspaper has learnt that, SFC commandos have already begun manning road tolls erected in several areas of Kampala where the LDU initially operated from.
Further the highly trained commandos have been doing night patrols on military and police trucks from the time LDU was suspended.
One of the directives instituted by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to mitigate novel Coronavirus was to order for a night curfew beginning 7pm till 6:30am.
The acting SFC spokesperson Maj. Mulema Mugume couldn’t be reached for a comment.
Defence publicist Brig. Richard Karemire when contacted if SFC had replaced the notorious LDUs, he said it is not true.
“Every day has its own security deployment,” he said before ending a call.
However on the morning hours of Thursday the spokesperson for UPDF Brig. Richard Karemire commented on reports of LDU suspension saying, “Regarding calls to disband LDUs by some groups, there is no reason for that. They have over a long time while working with other forces contributed tremendously to peace by fighting crime. The few who commit operational mistakes are always corrected and/or punished. This is on record.”
The LDU deployment has met outcries from the public over ‘terror’ unleashed on civilians by this poorly trained force.
Many of LDUs have in the previous past been reprimanded, killed and charged in the Military Court.
The President who is the Commander in Chief, earlier this week said he will deal with the indiscipline of LDU in his next missive.
Against that backdrop the army announced that this auxiliary force would be recalled from operations.
