Tabu Butagira & Paul Amoru
3 July 2009
The frightening talk about a new rebel group forming in northern Uganda is "rubbish", according to the country's chief spymaster.
Nearly a month after the army arrested seven rebel suspects in Gulu and Kitgum Districts; Gen. David Tinyefuza, the coordinator of national intelligence agencies, told Daily Monitor by phone yesterday that security officers touting Uganda Patriotic Forces (UPF) as a nascent insurgent group are simply recycling old, worthless information.
He said: "The talk about a new rebel group is utter rubbish. This is something we knew about long time ago and they are equal to mutayimbwa people [thugs who attack with iron bars]."
"This is not something Ugandans should be disturbed about and [the alleged new rebel group] poses no threat to national security at all."
This declaration, coming from the topmost intelligence boss, appeared to vindicate particularly Acholi politicians who have in recent days chorused that the alleged rebellion was being hyped by some security officers as a subterfuge to lock them in jail for purported treasonable acts.
It was not immediately clear if the army general was dismissing the alleged rebel group as a trick to ease covert operations or the rival interests among the plethora of security agencies, each scrambling for operational funds.
Military Spokesman Felix Kulayigye worked up emotions early this week by branding Mr Norbert Mao, the Gulu District chairman, an "adviser and accomplice" of the alleged rebel group, suggesting the politician was on security watch and could be arrested.
This is after Mr Mao, who has since denied any wrongdoing, admitted in a newspaper article that he has been in possession of a probable manifesto of the alleged new rebel group since early last year.
He later lost the flask disk containing the rebel dossier in Kampala and security operatives got hold of it, triggering the intensified search for suspected rebels in the north.
"The document he [Mr Mao] is talking about has his comments...As far as we are concerned, this is a case of misprision of treason," Maj. Kulayigye said on Wednesday.
But Gen. Tinyefuza appeared to weigh in favour of skeptics, saying he does not know the source of Maj. Kulayigye's incendiary accounts since an "army spokesman does not run security in this country."
Asked why the seven suspects were picked up if there no rebellion is in the offing, Gen. Tinyefuza said there could have been a prima facia case against the accused. Court, he said, will decide.
"But there is nothing of that magnitude [new rebel group] that people of Uganda should worry about," he said. Maj. Kulayigye, put on the spot by the latest developments, was unable to answer our repeated phone calls.
Ochora backs Mao
Meanwhile, Gulu Resident District Commissioner Walter Ochora yesterday said it was impossible that Mr Mao could be helping plot rebellion in the north.
Speaking on Gulu-based Mega FM, Col. Ochora said Mr Mao had shared the contents of the document with prominent personalities long before it appeared in the media.
He named the personalities as Ms Betty Bigombe, an ex-minister and peace broker, Dr Otto George in Canada, Opio Oloya, the New Vision columnist, Dr Ben Latigo, an academician and Dr Okee Obong, also an academician in the United States.
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