Chris Ocowun
8 January 2009
Kampala — LEADERS who were given guns at the peak of the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency are to be disarmed, a security committee has resolved.
The Gulu resident district commissioner, Walter Ochora, said LC3 bosses, sub-county chiefs, gombolola internal security officers and NRM cadres were given guns with ammunition to provide security.
"During the LRA insurgency, so many of our leaders were targets of the LRA rebels. Even my driver had a rifle because I was a target. But now that the situation has improved, we see no reason for allowing them to stay with the guns.
The security committee resolved that these leaders be disarmed and the guns taken back to the UPDF armoury," he said.
The regional army spokesman, Capt Ronald Kakurungu, said many leaders were armed by the military intelligence through the internal security organisation.
"Since the LRA insurgency has been defeated, we are reviewing who should have a gun and who should not.
Now that we are consolidating peace, we do not want many guns in the public unnecessarily," Kakurungu said.
He disclosed that disarming the leaders in Acholi started in 2006.
"We shall not withdraw all the guns from the GISOs because with or without insecurity, we need the GISOs to gather intelligence information," Kakurungu added.
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