Relatives of Vice President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi are in a state of panic after unknown thugs calling themselves UPPF dropped the latest anonymous letter asking him to join the fight to overthrow President Yoweri Museveni.
The letter was allegedly dropped inside the residence of Ssekandi located at Kizungu village next to Hotel Zebra in Katwe-Butego division, Masaka Municipality. It is not clear how the thugs beat heavy security presence at Ssekandi’s home to drop this letter.
The authors of the letter say the time is now for Ssekandi to wake up and fight what they call dictator Museveni and his corrupt tribesmen. They say that it is only through war that President Yoweri Museveni can be defeated.
Cissy Kayiira, one of Ssekandi’s relatives who stay at the vice president’s home, says they found the letter written in both English and Luganda just next to the gate. She says they were surprised at how the thugs beat the security to drop the letter.
Special Forces Command soldiers that guard this home have taken the letter to Masaka central police station.
Vice President Ssekandi who was at his residence on Tuesday has declined to comment on the incident when URN contacted him today, simply saying: “I have nothing to say about it.”
This incident comes a day after unknown assailants shot and killed Gideo Tusubira, a businessman in Masaka at his home in Bisanje trading centre. The killing of Tusubira comes at a time when several villages in Masaka, Bukomansimbi, Lwengo, Kalungu and Rakai have been attacked by thugs leaving at least four people dead and 30 others injured.
The latest letter has now left security puzzled by the wave of criminality in greater Masaka region.
Some opinion leaders blame insecurity on the breakdown of Mayumba Kumi mode of local leadership. Until late 1980s Uganda had adopted a Mayumba Kumi or ten-house cell system of community leadership which was replaced by Local council one administration.
This mode of administration was such that every 10 homesteads had one leader who would lead that community.
Sixty-eight-year-old Joseph Ssengoza is defense secretary at Soweto village in Katwe-Butego division who lived under Mayumba Kumi administrative arrangement. He says the flow of information was swift under this arrangement.
Ssengoza explains that during this arrangement, it was extremely difficult for someone to visit any of those homesteads unnoticed.
He says the flow of intelligence information was very swift which made it easy to track criminals.
Latif Zaake, the Southern region Police commander says police is reviving this Mayumba Kumi strategy. He says in every ten homes, they are recruiting a village Intelligence officer to feed police with intelligence information.
He says the current confusion surrounding the local council leadership frustrated crime intelligence.
Uganda last held local council One and Two elections more than 15 years ago.
Paul Migadde, a former local council leader says the current level of insecurity was not experienced until 2008. He says the dropping of anonymous letters started in 2008 when people claiming to be rebels attacked the area.
In 2009, at least 10 people were killed in Kyanamukaka Sub County after dropping of anonymous letters.
Migadde says since this level of criminality, police have never successfully prosecuted any people. According to him, the latest wave of criminality may be related to the 2008 killings where attackers gained access into peoples’ homes by drilling holes in the walls.
Police have since arrested at least 90 suspects in connection with current wave of criminality. They are on remand at Masaka central prison on murder, assault and terrorism charges.
@URN
