UPDF denies deploying in Kenya
THE Uganda People’s Defence Forces has refuted claims that it has deployed in Kenya. According to the Kenya <i>Sunday Standard</i>, some Ugandan troops were sighted in Busia town and in Port Victoria along River Sio.
By Henry Mukasa
THE Uganda People’s Defence Forces has refuted claims that it has deployed in Kenya.
“We have no troops at all on Kenyan soil,†army spokesman Capt. Paddy Ankunda said yesterday.
According to the Kenya Sunday Standard, some Ugandan troops were sighted in Busia town and in Port Victoria along River Sio.
The paper also quoted the Nambale MP-elect, Chris Okemo, as saying that some Ugandan soldiers crossed the “no-man’s-land†borderline.
“We have received reports that a number of strangers, whose mission is unknown, have been spotted in groups. We are still investigating the claims,†Okemo said.
But Ankunda said: “It’s a bad lie with no iota of truth. Troops in Kenya, what for? We are not at war,†he emphasised.
Asked whether the claims could be connected to threats by the Kenyan opposition ODM party to carry out massive protests and block Uganda’s main supply route, Ankunda said deploying a foreign army could not be a solution.
“If that (blockade) happens, do you have to send troops? You cannot send soldiers into another country without the permission of the international community,†Ankunda clarified.
He said the only Ugandan soldiers in Kenya are training at the Karen Defence College in Nairobi.
The standard also quoted Bondo MP-elect Dr Oburu Odinga as claiming that people in the Ugandan military landed on Mageta Island on Saturday evening. “The first batch of 12 soldiers, who spoke strange Kiswahili, arrived at Mageta Island past 5:00pm on Friday and asked for directions to Usenge and Uhanya beach,†Oburu said.
However, Kenya’s Nyanza Provisional Police Officer, Grace Kaindi, denied the claims.
“That is nonsense. There is no way foreign troops can be sneaked into the country since we are not at war with anybody.â€
In Nairobi, the Kenyan police spokesman, Eric Karaithe, also refuted SMS messages circulating across the region that Uganda had sent 3,000 troops to crush the opposition protest slated for Wednesday. Karaithe said Kenya had enough forces to hanlde the situation.
THE Uganda People’s Defence Forces has refuted claims that it has deployed in Kenya.
“We have no troops at all on Kenyan soil,†army spokesman Capt. Paddy Ankunda said yesterday.
According to the Kenya Sunday Standard, some Ugandan troops were sighted in Busia town and in Port Victoria along River Sio.
The paper also quoted the Nambale MP-elect, Chris Okemo, as saying that some Ugandan soldiers crossed the “no-man’s-land†borderline.
“We have received reports that a number of strangers, whose mission is unknown, have been spotted in groups. We are still investigating the claims,†Okemo said.
But Ankunda said: “It’s a bad lie with no iota of truth. Troops in Kenya, what for? We are not at war,†he emphasised.
Asked whether the claims could be connected to threats by the Kenyan opposition ODM party to carry out massive protests and block Uganda’s main supply route, Ankunda said deploying a foreign army could not be a solution.
“If that (blockade) happens, do you have to send troops? You cannot send soldiers into another country without the permission of the international community,†Ankunda clarified.
He said the only Ugandan soldiers in Kenya are training at the Karen Defence College in Nairobi.
The standard also quoted Bondo MP-elect Dr Oburu Odinga as claiming that people in the Ugandan military landed on Mageta Island on Saturday evening. “The first batch of 12 soldiers, who spoke strange Kiswahili, arrived at Mageta Island past 5:00pm on Friday and asked for directions to Usenge and Uhanya beach,†Oburu said.
However, Kenya’s Nyanza Provisional Police Officer, Grace Kaindi, denied the claims.
“That is nonsense. There is no way foreign troops can be sneaked into the country since we are not at war with anybody.â€
In Nairobi, the Kenyan police spokesman, Eric Karaithe, also refuted SMS messages circulating across the region that Uganda had sent 3,000 troops to crush the opposition protest slated for Wednesday. Karaithe said Kenya had enough forces to hanlde the situation.