By Alfred Wasike

ABOUT 34,040 bullets were burnt at Kigo Prison yesterday. A team of explosive experts, led by the Anti-Terrorism Unit assistant commissioner of Police, Abas Byakagaba, constructed the six incinerators that were used to destroy the ammunition.

The bullets were discovered in September 2006 by a 72-year-old brickmaker, Falasiko Ssentumbwe, the Kakola LC1 defence secretary and his assistant only identified as Mutoro in Kakola village, Mpigi town council.

Ssentumbwe suspects that the bullets were left behind by the Federal Democratic Movement and the Uganda Freedom Movement forces that once operated in the area

“It was a rainy day. Mutoro was digging up more clay to cover our bricks when he hit something hard. We dug deeper and discovered metallic containers, so we reported to the Police,” a beaming Ssentumbwe recalled.

The Police led by the central regional commander, Benson Oyo Nyeko, recovered the hidden ammunition.
Experts said the cache could have armed at least 1,000 troops, each carrying a rifle loaded with a 30-round magazine.
The Inspector General of Military Equipment, Col. Eric Mukasa, valued each bullet at about $1 (sh1,600).

The coordinator of the Uganda National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Richard Nabudere, said the destruction of the bullets cost Uganda and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) about sh10m.
He warned the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa had several small arms and light weapons, many of them in illegal hands.

The UNDP representative, Athman Kakiva, said they would help Uganda create a secure environment for its citizens.

Uganda is a signatory to several anti-illicit weapon agreements including the United Nations Programme of Action, the Bamako Declaration, Nairobi Declaration and Nairobi Protocol.

“We are witnessing a real commitment to provide a better and safer future for Ugandans and to build hope and confidence among the Ugandans,” Kakiva said.

He commended the Government for demonstrating its commitment towards its international obligations.

In May 2006, Uganda smelted 57,000 illegal weapons including artillery pieces, bazookas and light machine-guns in Jinja. This was the largest illegal weapons destruction in Africa.