Pope Francis has encouraged everyone to pray for peace as he offered his prayers for the students of Mpondwe- Lhubiria secondary school who were murdered brutally in an attack by alleged Allied Democratic Force (ADF) rebels.
The Pope made the prayers at his first Sunday appearance since being released from Gemelli Hospital in Rome.
He used the Sunday Angelus to pray for the students whom he said were victims of a “brutal attack”. The Pope also asked everyone to pray for peace wherever there is tension and war.
Meanwhile, a total of 20 people including the headmaster and director have been arrested following the attack by suspected ADF rebels on Lhubirira Secondary School in Mpondwe on Friday night leaving at least 40 students dead.
The attack saw a group of suspected ADF fighters raid the school at night before firing indiscriminately into the girls’ dormitory and also throwing a bomb into the boys’ dormitory.
The arrest of suspected collaborators follows reports by the UPDF Mountain Division Commander, Gen Dick Olum that the attackers had spent two days in the area prior to the attack and that they could have been helped out by some of the locals.
He also noted that the attackers could have been helped by locals to carry out reconnaissance and identify their target by getting prior knowledge of the geography of the school.
“They knew where the girls sleep and where the boys sleep, they burn the boys and hacked the girls,” he said.
Maj Gen Olum wondered why the locals were not vigilant enough to see that some new members have come to the community, he called upon residents to open their eyes to any new members in the community and report such.
The First Lady who also doubles as the Education Minister, Janet Kataaha Museveni in a press briefing on Saturday said the school could have been attacked by people hired by rivals claiming ownership of the school.
She cited a rivalry between the host community and the Canadian sponsors of the school.
The Education Minister’s claims, therefore, lend credence to the arrest of the school headmaster and director by security to further aid in investigations.