10 November 2009
editorial
Residents of Moyo District are living in fear. On Friday, seven soldiers belonging to the Sudanese People's Liberation Army descended on Gmberi village in Metu Sub-county, searching for one Thomas Olima, a Ugandan national they accused of spying on their government.
Apparently, they had earlier arrested Mr Olima in Sudan and tortured him but he escaped, explaining the Friday assault. Failing to trace Mr Olima, the soldiers held five members of the Olima family, an official of the National Forestry Authority and two Police constables hostage for over four hours before setting them free.
Whatever the circumstances, what those Sudanese soldiers did was aggress a sovereign country and harass its citizens. It was illegal, an affront on diplomacy and should be strongly condemned. Yet this is not the first such case in the recent past. In June, SPLA soldiers again crossed into Moyo, attacking farmers and firing in the air--that time, their complaint was over the border demarcation.
We are living in an era where dialogue is viewed as the core means of resolving conflict. The age where the gun dictated events is long gone--and yet this lesson seems lost on the offending Sudanese soldiers. But one wonders where the Uganda security apparatus, the Police, were as armed people from another country ran amok, threatening its citizens.
When a bomb scare is raised in Kampala or a possible riot feared--the entire security outfit is paraded--and yet when Ugandans are placed at gunpoint in their own country by foreigners, nothing is seen to be done. On the wider picture--maybe it is about time the government had an honest dialogue with their colleagues in Juba. Just last week, Ugandan traders under their umbrella organisation, KACITA, threatened to demonstrate over alleged harassment by Sudanese authorities.
When South Sudan was fighting against the Khartoum government, Kampala offered a lot of support--logistical and otherwise. For decades Uganda housed refugees from Sudan, who fled insecurity in their homeland. Many are just returning now. The ties between these two countries go back many years. It is a bond that should not break now because of overzealous soldiers. Someone must bring them to order.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 The Monitor. 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.
