FOLLOWING the bomb blasts on Sunday night and the suspicion that the attacks were orchestrated by Somali insurgents al-Shabaab, sections of the public are questioning our involvement in Somalia.

To believe that if Somalia goes to the dogs it will have no impact on Uganda, is to ignore the big picture.

In fact the bombings on Sunday strengthen the case for our continued presence in the troubled Horn of Africa.

Recent conflicts in eastern Congo, Burundi, Southern Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, northern Uganda and the continued cattle rustling in north-eastern Uganda and north-western Kenya all have a direct link to the insecurity in Somalia.

It is estimated that there are up to 50,000 illegal small arms in Uganda today because we are right in the middle of a gun corridor that stretches from Somalia to Chad.

It does not take a brilliant mind to work out then, that the lawlessness in Somalia is the engine that drives this trade and this same trade feeds the continued destabilisation of the region.

Beyond altruistic considerations Uganda’s strategic interest dictates that Somalia or any neighbouring country should remain stable and peaceful.

Secondly, Uganda is not in Somalia out of unilateral decision, but as part of a peace force mandated by the African Union to secure the government in Mogadishu.

Uganda and Burundi are the only two countries that responded to the call for a peace-keeping mission in the country, which has seen no peace since the beginning of the 1990s.

As they say, you can choose your friends but you cannot choose your family, wouldn’t it be nice if Uganda was situated in Western Europe? The reality is that we are not and we have to deal with our circumstances the best way we can.

Calls for a pullout are understandable given the circumstances, but cannot hold up in the face of cold logic, in fact a pullout of our forces would play into the hands of the terrorists.