Senior UPDF officers praise Major Bwende

By John Eremu SENIOR army officers have hailed the late Maj. Jero Bwende as a true patriot who abandoned his family to join the liberation struggle. Army Commander, Maj. Gen. Jeje Odongo, Maj. Gen. Elly Tumwine and Brig. Jim Muhwezi at a requiem mass at Bugolobi Church of Uganda on Sunday said Bwende was a committed freedom fighter. "In 1981 when he joined the bush war, he had a fairly large family which he abandoned for the liberation of this country," Muhwezi said. "In the bush he was not only a fighter like all of us, but he also played another role of morale boosting the fighters," he added. The Chief Political Commissar, Col. Livingstone Katerega, who represented Odongo, said the army will greatly miss Bwende. Tumwine, on behalf of the Government, said despite joining the struggle as a civilian, Bwende volunteered to plant explosives in enemy territory and was the first commander to establish a rebel unit in Kiwanguzi, Luweero district. "That is why if you went to places like Semuto and Kapeeka, there is nobody who does not know Bwende," Tumwine said. Bwende, the former parliamentary candidate for Nakaseke county, died of kidney complications on Saturday. He was buried at his home in Nyabushozi, Mbarara yesterday. Prior to the elections, Bwende was detained for two days at Makindye military barracks over election-related violence. His wife Gertrude blamed his death on his detention under poor conditions. Tumwine said the government was investigating the arrest. Ends