UPDF celebrates Tarehe Sita anniversary today

The deputy defence spokesperson, Colonel Deo Akiiki, says the army is now more than committed to supporting Uganda’s social-economic initiatives that will see the country move from one level to another.

He also adds that the army will continue to play a key role in the security of Uganda as a whole.

Tarehe Sita is the day UPDF marks the attack on Kabamba barracks in 1981 which launched the five-year struggle that brought the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Government to power 36 years ago. The day is celebrated annually on the 6th of February.

The celebrations come at the backdrop of cries from different people – mostly National Unit Platform (NUP) supporters – complaining of abductions and missing persons that some say have been gone for more than two years now.

The Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Mathias Mpuuga, recently brought up the issue of missing persons and those jailed without trial in Parliament.

Prior, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, was supposed to meet with the opposition - NUP specifically – to discuss the matter and forge a way forward. This however didn’t happen following Tayebwa’s no show on the day of meeting.

Tayebwa apologised to Mpuuga during plenary and promised he would meet with the opposition and find a way of how to resolve on the matter.

“I would like to apologise to my brother Mpuuga for not showing on that day. I got sick and couldn’t make it. But now that the issue has come up again, I promise we will meet and find a way forward,” he said during plenary.

However, when the Prime Minister, Robbinah Nabbanja, convened a high-level meeting between ministers and the opposition, she only accounted for five missing persons against the twenty-five that the opposition tabled.

The opposition objected this saying the prime minister’s statement was too casual and insensitive.

“We have considered the response by Government delivered through the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja on the questions of abductions, illegal detentions, and murders of Ugandans over the last six months. We find her statement very casual and therefore we have decided to reject it, dismiss it, and to call on the Government to be sensitive, responsive, and concerned about the fate of families of Ugandans who have been abducted,” the shadow defence minister, Jonathan Odur, said.

This year’s Tarehe Sita celebrations will be held at Kakyeka stadium in Mbarara.

The celebration will be held under the theme: “Recognising the Sacrifice of the founders of the Peoples Revolution for social economic transformation.”