The UPDF has decried the increasing rate of gun trafficking in West Nile. The 4th Division army spokesperson, Capt. Peter Mugisa, said they recently arrested civilians with two pistols, five army uniforms and assorted military hardware in Arua town.
Addressing journalists on Thursday at the army barracks in Arua, Mugisa said most of the ammunition was bought from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The guns are bought from soldiers there who claim they are not paid well,†he said. Mugisa also paraded an 18-year-boy arrested in possession of a pistol. Dalili Gidu, a resident of Kebir cell in Arua municipality, confessed to buying the pistol from Kaya in Southern Sudan.
“I bought the gun at 350,000 Sudanese pounds (about sh250,000) to protect me from my stepfather who wanted to kill me and I crossed into Uganda with it via Arua.
“He tortures my mother, Halima Noha, and I hate to see her suffer, so I stole his money and bought the gun for protection,†Gidu narrated. He said he had planned to sell the gun so that he could use the money to start a business.
Last month, three juveniles were arrested in Koboko town with a pistol reportedly bought from Kaya. The children escaped from Arua Police custody. However, they were re-arrested.
Mugisa warned those in possession of illegal guns to hand them over to the authorities or risk being arrested. The West Nile Police spokesperson, Philip Mukasa, blamed parents of such children for negligence and warned them of arrest.
Gun trafficking rampant in West Nile, says army
