Dominic Wabala
22 June 2008
Nairobi — Two senior Sabaot Land Defence Force commanders who have been in hiding were arrested by security forces in Mt Elgon on Friday morning.
Stephen Juma Kiru alias "Besigye", who took over leadership of the SLDF following the killing of former leader Wycliffe Matakwei by the military, surrendered in Mt Elgon along with another commander identified only as "Baiskeli."
The two, who surrendered at the Kapkota military camp, were accompanied by 14 other "foot soldiers". They surrendered to the joint military operation at the Kapkota military camp on Friday.
Others who surrendered include a 15-year-old secondary school boy who had been abducted and forced to join the militia group.
The militia commander and his lieutenants also handed over two General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), one AK-47 assault rifle, a G3 rifle, 14 military boots, two tents, 110 rounds of ammunition, blankets and solar panels.
According to the Police Spokesman, Mr Eric Kiraithe, the group surrendered after security agents pursued them deep into the Mt Elgon forest and raided the camp from which they took blankets, tents and food.
The militia managed to escape at the time but police recovered the guns and destroyed the camp forcing them to spend Friday night in severe cold before the leaders opted to surrender.
Those who have surrendered are being interrogated at the Kapkota military camp and might be arraigned in court.
The security agents say only one SLDF commander identified as Kanai and 12 foot soldiers remain on the loose.
Department of Defence spokesman Bogita Ongeri said six other SLDF members surrendered to the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) last week and have since been handed over to the Kenyan authorities.
Mr Bogita expressed confidence, that the security team has routed the SLDF.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
