Summary:
- Minister Kabbyanga emphasized that while the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government has made significant achievements in Kasese District, it remains his hope that security forces will clear all ADF remnants still hiding in the DRC jungles.
KASESE: The Minister of State for ICT and National Guidance, Godfrey Baluku Kabbyanga Kiime, has expressed his hope that the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and the Congolese Army will fully eliminate the remaining Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels from the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) before Uganda’s 2026 General Elections.
On November 30, 2021, the governments of Uganda and the DRC launched a joint military operation, codenamed “Operation Shujaa,” aimed at combating the ADF rebels in the Kivu and Ituri provinces.
Despite this offensive, between June and November 2023, suspected ADF rebels carried out attacks in parts of Kasese District, resulting in the deaths of several people, including two foreigners and 37 students at Mpondwe–Lhubiriha Secondary School, who were killed in an attack on June 16.
Speaking to the press on Monday at Movic Motel in Mpondwe–Lhubiriha Town Council, Minister Kabbyanga emphasized that while the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government has made significant achievements in Kasese District, it remains his hope that security forces will clear all ADF remnants still hiding in the DRC jungles.
Kabbyanga noted that the insurgency in the neighboring country negatively impacts development projects in Kasese, especially those near the Mpondwe border. He added that the ADF’s activities also harm the district’s tourism industry, despite Kasese being a major tourism destination in Uganda.
The minister further expressed his desire for the government to fulfill its pledge of providing 500 million shillings to each parish in Uganda under the Parish Development Model program before the 2026 elections.
Mary Maryline Kabugho Kighotha, a parliamentary hopeful for the Kasese District Woman seat, also voiced her concerns, praying that the government addresses the ongoing issue of inadequate access to safe drinking water in the district.
