Tension is high among Ugandan security agencies following the escape of M23 rebel leader Sultan Makenga from a UPDF detention facility where he had been held.
Sources in the military indicate that leader of the Congolese rebels of M23 has disappeared from his secret base in Kampala where he had been guarded by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).
There has been a rumor that Makenga had escaped but it had not been confirmed until Friday after a highly placed source in the army confirmed that Makenga disappeared on January 14.
“It is true, he escaped from our secret detention center last month (January) on 14th,” said the source which preferred anonymity because he is not the official spokesman of the army.
Initially, the army had said that the rebel leader was under tight watch although they were stunned by the rebel leader’s mysterious disappearance.
Asked how the man who was tightly guarded went missing, the source told this reporter that the army did not restrict him from movement.
“I think he took advantage of the freedom we gave him. We were only ensuring his safety but he was not restricted from moving around,” the source narrated.
Also read: Sultani Makenga launching M23 rebel attacks from ‘ Kisoro, Uganda’
The Congolese army on Tuesday said an armed group suspected to be M23 had entered DR Congo and captured four crew members of a crashed military helicopter in the eastern part of the country, an account that sends a message that Makenga could have rejoined his group of fighters.
The M23 rebels were defeated by by the Congolese and UN troops in 2013 and have since been living in Bihanga army barracks in Ibanda District in western Uganda. However, a statement issued by the Ugandan a fortnight ago indicates that the M23 rebels who had been quietly escaping one by one.
