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| Africa: Central | |
| Mukula sez they better not give Kony a deadline | |
| 2003-12-22 | |
| Capt. Mike Mukula is not convinced that setting deadlines for the end of the Joseph Kony-led rebel insurgency is a wise move. "This is not like a picnic, these people have been fighting for long, they know the terrain, its not a football match [so] you cannot give deadlines," he said. Mukula is minister of State for Health and overall coordinator of the Teso militia called the Arrow Group. The militia has been fighting the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels alongside the army since June. Mukula made the passionate appeal while speaking at the cabinet’s press briefing at Nakasero yesterday. Mukula’s view on Kony deadlines contrasts sharply with that of President Museveni. Museveni has vowed to kill off Kony almost every dry season. "Deadlines that is the view of the Commander in Chief but my humble view is that we should not give deadlines. The overall assessment is that this war will end but we can not give a time period," he said. The president has in the past lost a Shs 1 million bet to a journalist Tamale Mirundi. Museveni had promised to kill Kony within seven months between February 1996 and March 1997. Former army Commander Maj. Gen. James Kazini also promised to end the insurgency in 2002 but failed. Mukula told journalists yesterday that the overall security situation in Teso has improved. He said that between 80-90 percent of the displaced people have returned to their homes. He said both the army and the Arrow boys have scored major successes against the rebels. The Minister of State for Children and Youth Affairs Mr Felix Okot Ogong who hails from Lango was defiant. "I recently finished my military training for one month, it was tough training. I want Kony to meet me in the battle field because I don’t want to die like a coward," he said.
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| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 The sad thing is, because I didn't recognize the names I had to go to the story to find out what country this was regarding. Turns out it was Uganda, but it could've been anywhere.
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| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-12-22 7:29:08 AM |