Busoga World War veterans petition Museveni over pension

By Moses Nampala MEMBERS of the Second World War Veterans Association in Busoga have petitioned President Yoweri Museveni to intervene in their long- standing claims for unpaid gratuity and pension. The association includes the surviving ex-servicemen, orphans and widows of the deceased veterans. The Busoga region ex-servicemen association chairman, Corporal Andrew Dax Mubiike, claimed the British government, through the British Empire, had extended gratuity to them early this year. He said the Ministry of Defence received the money released to them through the Government of Uganda. “Our colleagues in West Nile have already received their share, but since February, we have not received any communication from the relevant authorities. Hordes of our colleagues whom we shared hardships with have long died due to old age,” Mubiike said. He regretted some of the survivors were incapacitated and disabled, expressing fear that they might die before enjoying the sweat of their struggle. The veterans fought in the British colonial force, the King African Rifles. He said their association has considered the widows and orphans of deceased ex-service men as direct beneficiaries. The association on November 11 communicated to President Yoweri Museveni expressing their predicament but, they have not yet received any feed back from him.