Sudan Agreement Expires â€" Mbabazi

THE Protocol allowing the UPDF to pursue rebel leader Joseph Kony into Sudan is due to expire next week, the Minister of Defence, Amama Mbabazi, said yesterday, writes Joyce Namutebi.Mbabazi said Col. Mande and Kyakabale were training some people in Rwanda and infiltrating them back to fight the UPDF. He, however, said the rebels were caught in the battlefield.Appearing before the parliamentary committee on defence and internal affairs, Mbabazi said, “We have been in constant discussions with Rwanda and we are reasonably satisfied that the Rwanda Government will not support these activities.”He told the committee chaired by Simon Mayende that the UPDF had started using helicopters to fight Kony.Mbabazi, state minister Ruth Nankabirwa, the Permanent Secretary Musoke Gabindade and senior defence officials had appeared to defend their budget for this financial year.During the four-hour discussion, Mbabazi had heated exchanges with MPs, particularly Aggrey Awori and Nobert Mao.Mbabazi at one time emphasised that the reason he was presenting the policy statement was because “I’m the one, I’m the one, administering defence.” The committee ended up demanding that Mbabazi produces a list of barracks he has visited and when he did it. Mayende gave him two weeks to produce this information.Answering a question by Alex Onzima (Maracha) on how many times he (minister) had gone to visit barracks, Mbabazi replied, “I’m well a head of management than Onzima whose way of doing things is ancient.”Mao asked the minister to explain Capt Khelil Magara’s death. Mao said the truth was that Magara did not die of shock as defence people say but was killed.Ends