Joint deployment started on Sunday, October 23
The governments of Uganda and South Sudan have agreed to deploy a joint police force along their common border to stem the rampant killings of travellers.
Since forces loyal to South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar resumed fighting four months ago, at least five buses plying the Juba – Kampala route have been ambushed and many people killed. Others have been abducted and are still missing.
The joint deployment started on Sunday, October 23, after the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on Saturday at Kampala Serena hotel.
Uganda’s Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura and his South Sudan counterpart Gen Makur Marol Aduot witnessed the signing of the MOU.
Before the signing, Gen Kayihura said: “Lives and property have been lost at Nimule, Juba road and this situation required urgent initiative and meeting.”
Kayihura added that police is duty bound to protect the people and their properties.
Gen Makur apologized to Ugandans who have lost loved ones in the South Sudan skirmishes.
“We are here to discuss the security of our common border and protection of people from Kampala to Juba,” he said.
“What happened will not happen again because we shall have strong resolutions from this meeting,” he said.
A source who attended the six-hour meeting said the two countries agreed to cooperate in the areas of border security, highway security, investigations, counter terrorism and crime intelligence, among others.
The two police chiefs, our source added, agreed to establish taskforces to respond to urgent security challenges.
“We have also resolved to pursue criminal gangs and dismantle terror cells in both countries,” the source added.
Andrew Felix Kaweesi, the police spokesman, on Monday confirmed the joint deployment along the common border.
“During the security meeting, we resolved that we should heavily deploy along the Uganda, South Sudan border to make sure that people coming and going to Juba are safe,” he said.
Kaweesi further said that Uganda has deployed the Flying Squad, the police’s violent crime crack unit, in the northern Uganda districts of Kitgum and Gulu to hunt down armed gangs who are terrorising Ugandans there.
“A group of people suspected to have come from South Sudan armed with firearms have penetrated Acholi region and are killing people; so, we have deployed the Flying Squad to arrest them,” he said.
Herbert Muhangi, the Flying Squad commander, said on Monday that some criminal elements have been arrested.
“We have arrested many people and recovered guns from them.We are holding them in different police stations in northern Uganda, pending investigations,” he said.
He added that most of the recovered guns are not marked, and are suspected to have come from South Sudan or Democratic Republic of Congo.
Source: Johnson Taremwa/Observer
