KAMPALA – The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has warned aspirants against using military escorts to settle political scores during campaigns.
The army spokesperson, Brig Gen Flavia Byekwaso, said such escorts will be withdrawn.
“It has come to our notice that many members of Parliament across the political divide who were given military escorts for their personal security in the wake of armed criminality last year, have started misusing these soldiers in the current political season,” she said in a statement issued on Tuesday, September 1, 2020.
Brig Byekwaso added that such soldiers are likely to be involved in compromising yet unnecessary and avoidable violence between the contending political groups.
“For this reason, the UPDF leadership directs that its soldiers should not be misused and where this is found to happen, they will be promptly withdrawn,” she warned.
“The contenders for political office should not involve and/or misuse these soldiers and policemen, who were assigned purely, for a different and clear purpose of ensuring the personal security of the members of Parliament. This also applies to all the others contending for political office but are armed or have armed escorts,” she added.