Africa-Press – Uganda. PARLIAMENT. Legislators in the Buganda caucus have pledged to support security personnel in the mission to crackdown and hunt for the machete-wielding assailants that have so far killed 28 people in the Greater Masaka region.
In their address to the media after their meeting convened on Wednesday morning at Parliament, the Buganda leadership pledged through their chairperson, Mr Muhammad Muwanga Kivummbi, (Butambala County MP) demanded that security stamps its presence in the region.
“We urge security to do whatever they can to get on top of the situation and we promise to support them,” Mr Kivumbi said.
Out of the resolutions from their two-hour meeting, the legislators agreed to push for strict observance of the rights of suspects that have so far been arrested but not been arraigned before court.
“As we go to Masaka, we are also going to take care of the rights of the people because even when one is a suspect, they should be arraigned in court on time so that they are not held in custody for more than the provided period enshrined in the law,” Mr Kivumbi said.
The meeting comes hours after the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ms Anita Among directed all legislators and other local leaders from the Greater Masaka to support security personnel and other government organs that have embarked on a fact-finding mission into the causes of the killings in the region.
“It is us [leaders] to lead security into those areas. These matters can be handled. I am directing the leaders of greater Masaka to work with security on this. Let’s not leave everything in Masaka to security alone,” Ms Among directed as she chaired the plenary sitting on Tuesday.
Mr Kivumbi’s team agreed on the procedure and approach to use in offering their support to the security teams in Masaka.
Ms Joyce Bagala, the Shadow Minister for Information, noted that the situation in Masaka should not be hinged on politics.
“Government points this situation to politics and they say they know the people behind this, so they should come and name them,” Ms Bagala demanded.
Since security pitched camp in the area over the weekend, no murders have been reported since Monday, unlike the past weeks where a death or two would be reported every morning.
The assailants whose motive is yet to be establsihed have mostly been targeting the elder aged 50 years and over. Security forces have so far arrested about 70 suspects in connection with the murders.
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