UPDF to give aid to Ugandans in South Sudan

Feb 10, 2014

About 50 Ugandans, part of a larger number of traders who were operating in the town, are still in there having taken shelter from the recent wave of violence at the nearby UN base.

By Steven Candia

The UPDF deployed in the flashpoint South Sudan town of Bor, will provide food and medical care to Ugandans there.

About 50 Ugandans, part of a larger number of traders who were operating in the town, are still in there having taken shelter from the recent wave of violence at the nearby UN base.

Meeting a group of about 25 Ugandans at the UPDF base there, the UPDF Joint Task Force commander, Col. Muhanga Kayanja, was shocked to learn that there were still that many Ugandans there.

“The UN told me that there were only six Ugandans at their base but I am shocked to see this number,” Kayanja said while meeting Ugandans in Bor, the capital of the restive Jonglei state, who had made their way to the base on seeing a UPDF helicopter land.

However, that was not the only surprise for Kayanja. He was shocked when he was informed by those present that there were more Ugandans still at the base.

“We are close to 50 there,” one of the traders said. The traders narrated their hair-raising ordeal during the more than three weeks the town was seized by rebels loyal to former South Sudan Vice president Riek Machar and said staying alive, even in the camp wasn’t easy.

“The food rations are not enough, but somehow we survive. They give us water and soya porridge,” one of the Ugandans said. It is at this point that Kayanja inquired whether any of them wanted to return home. Then came another surprise: Apart from one who slowly raised his hand, the rest just looked at one another then at Kayanja.

If their body language was anything to go by, the message was clear: They were not willing to return to Uganda, at least for now. Asked why they do not want to return home in light of the prevailing conditions, many of them said they dreaded the thought of returning home empty-handed.

“Now that you (UPDF) are here we are safe. We will struggle and find a way to survive. Hopefully with time things will
get better,” one of them said. It is then that Kayanja made the offer.

“Since food is an issue, we will not let you die when we are here. You can come to the base at any time and we share our food and then you go back. The same applies to medical treatment. Who ever is sick can go to our clinic and get treatment,” Kayanja said to cheers from the traders.

He then directed one of his junior officers to allot the traders some maize flour and beans for them take back with them to the UN camp that day.

Narrating their ordeal, apart from many of them having a close brush with death, many said their businesses had either been looted or razed to the ground. One of the Ugandans told of how the decision by Parliament to authorise the deployment of the UPDF in South Sudan worsened life for them.

“On learning of the decision, we became a target for the rebels. On one occasion a rebel came and stood at a fence and inquired whether there was a Ugandan among us, wishing to be given one so that he shows them a lesson. So, we sneaked away quietly. It was one of the most difficult times for us,” Alfred Sakwa said.

 

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});