Ex-Rwenzururu royal guards, leaders condemn November 1 Rwenzori attacks

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The Rwenzururu kingdom's former security detail, known as royal guards, has strongly condemned the November 1 concurrent attacks in the Rwenzori sub-region and dissociated itself from the barbaric acts.

At around 5:00am, armed militants simultaneously attacked Kasese Central Police barracks, Malindi and Kakuka UPDF detachments in Bundibugyo district.

Another section attempted to raid Canon Apollo Core Primary Teachers College and Nyakasura Senior Secondary in Fort Portal North City Division.

In Kasese, the assailants attacked the Rwenzori East Central Police main barracks in the heart of Kasese Municipality, injuring a police officer and torching a police a police uni-pot.

“Whoever they are and whatever their motives or funders may be, they must be condemned in the strongest terms possible,” the former royal guards.

"As someone who lived through and witnessed the tragic events of 2016, I know firsthand the agony, the fear, pain, and the devastation that such violence brings upon families and communities,” said ex-coordinator Edwin Mumbere in the November 10 emotionally-charged statement.

Saying the arrests and imprisonment had inflicted “scars” on the former inmates, he says, “Regrettably, our people must relive that dark chapter once again.”

Currently in the United Arab Emirates for studies, Mumbere was the coordinator of a group of the royal guards who were previously imprisoned for nearly seven years at Kirinya Prison (Jinja Main Prison) in Jinja.

Imprisonment

Along with the Rwenzururu king, Charles Wesley Kisembo Mumbere Irema-Ngoma, they had been arrested on November 27, 2016, during a bloody joint police-backed military raid on the kingdom’s palace in Kasese Municipality, in which scores of kingdom subjects and 16 police officers died.

The king and his co-accused were later charged with several accounts, including treason, murder and attempted murder and aggravated robbery and incarcerated for nearly seven years before a successful application for amnesty.

Government, through the Director of Public Prosecution, dropped all charges against Mumbere and some 217 of his co-accused subjects on June 13, 2013 and later released them.

But the kingdom’s Minister for general duties-cum acting Prime Minister, Johnson Thembo Kitsumbire, who had been arrested later, declined to seek amnesty and is still on bail.

The group had faced charges including treason, terrorism, murder, and aggravated robbery related to the 2016 Kasese clashes.

Kingdom Leaders speak out

Relatedly, Rwenzururu and Tooro kingdom officials termed the acts as “cowardly” and “heinous”, intolerable acts of criminality and violence by enemies of peace who should be identified, apprehended, and brought to justice.”

At their quarterly meeting held at the Kasese district headquarters, the Council of Older Persons of Kasese, chaired by Barnabas Bwambale Bamusede, condemned the attackers.

The Council urged elders and other community members in the Rwenzori sub-region to frankly and openly discuss the security challenges in the region if the area is to be sustainably pacified.

“As elders of the district, we need to come out very strongly to augment the voices of the political, cultural leaders who have issued statements condemning the attacks,” Bamusede suggested.

Saluting security forces for having expeditiously contained the “heinous” act, they also hailed the residents for having joined the security forces in hunting down the “bandits.”

“We hope that security forces will find out and expose the true identity of the attackers, their ringleaders, and their sponsors who are injecting money to carry out these heinous activities.

Bishop Nason Baluku, while addressing mourners at the burial of one of the Lay Readers, Amos Kambere Mayani, challenged the mourners to follow God, wondering how people who have been baptised could engage in bloodshedding activities like the Saturday dawn, November 1 attacks.

“Abakonzo mwama thuhemulha (Bakonzo, you have shamed us) and this has happened because we don’t know what God demands of us,” he stated at the burial at Kikokera Village, Bugoye sub-county, Kasese district.

“How can a person splash mere ash on you and convince you that it will protect you from being shot?” he asked, and concluding, “What happened should not be repeated

On behalf of former inmates, Edwin Mumbere added that the November 1 attackers do not represent them, adding the assailants “will never succeed.”

“We are not part of them, nor are our colleagues who were not arrested, because many of them are in their homes looking for ways of settling and enjoying together the peace” ushered in by the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).

“We are also asking ourselves why, like this? Why must our homeland continue to bleed? Why have some people failed to learn from the painful lessons of the past?”

The people of Kasese have endured enough; we have buried enough of our loved ones, lost enough property, and shed enough tears. We reject any efforts by wrong-minded individuals to drag Kasese into chaos once more and…appeal to the youth not to involve themselves or even to come close to such evil-minded people. We are committed to peace, unity, and security for every citizen; they pledge to “continue working closely with the government to ensure the safety of our communities and to prevent such incidents from recurring, adds the Mumbere statement.

41 attackers killed, 90 captured

In a report about the November 1 raids, Maj. Gen. Stephen Mugerwa, Mountain Division Commander and Operation Shujaa, reported that 41 attackers were killed across Kasese, Fort Portal City, and Bundibugyo.

According to security, one of the organisers of the Bundibugyo attacks, Asuman Mukirania Muganzi, of Kakuka II Village, Sindilela Sub-County, Bundibugyo District. was among those killed in a military operation to repulse the attackers.

Another 90 others have been captured, including one Biira, the operations and logistics coordinator of the militants.  Confirmed as a resident of Nyamwamba Division of Kasese Municipality, was intercepted in Rugendabara-Kikongo Town Council while leading a section that had planned to back up the one that attacked Kasese Central Police barracks in the heart of Kasese Municipality.