Man arrested with army uniform as LDUs resume operations
Local Defence Unit personnel in Mukono have arrested a man with a military warm suit and several other military items in an operation mounted on Tuesday night.
According to the deputy UPDF spokesperson, Lt.Col.Deo Akiiki, the incident happened at Mayangayanga village, Kimenyedde sub county in Mukono district when Brian Kilinda,23 was found with several military gears.
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“He was found with one digital army peck, two army t-shirts, three head gears, one beret and an AMISOM badge. He claims that he got them from a family friend who is now on a peacekeeping mission in Somalia,” Akiiki said.
The deputy army spokesperson noted that the suspect is currently detained at Naggalama police station as investigations into the case continue.
Local Defence Unit personnel resumed operations after completing a two -week refresher course at the Kakiri military barracks.
The move to have 10 LDU battalions in Kampala go for a refresher course stemmed from various complaints from members of the public about the behavior of the personnel during operations.
The suspect after arrest.
The personnel had been involved in several incidents of shooting, robbery, torture and unlawful arrest of members of the public prompting complaints.
The onset of the Coronavirus pandemic saw the LDU personnel brutalise several members of the public while enforcing the presidential guidelines on stopping the spread of the virus.
The LDU personnel have however been retrained in political education, civil policing, human rights, law and the role of media in military operations among others in training sessions conducted by both the UPDF and Uganda Police instructors.
The UPDF spokesperson, Brig.Flavia Bykewaso on Tuesday said LDU will only be involved in night operations together with police, unlike before where they sometimes conducted their own self-initiated operations during the day.
“Following indepth consultations with security stake holders, we have agreed that LDUs who have undergone and completed their training resume operations only at night in support of the Uganda Police Force to curtail criminal activities,”Brig.Byekwaso said in a statement.
