Museveni wrong to blame spies over attacks, says Brig Gwanga Brig Gwanga says the President should instead call for a face-to-face meeting with lower-cadre detectives and “he will be shocked by their grievances”. KAMPALA- A senior aide has said President Museveni was wrong to fault intelligence agencies for failing to detect and prevent the macabre attacks in western Uganda, slightly over a week ago. Brig Kasirye Gwanga, the senior presidential adviser on security in Buganda region, said poor facilitation has inhibited robust intelligence gathering and analyses countrywide. “He (Museveni) cannot blame Intelligence (operatives), the boys down there are poorly facilitated. Sometimes they have to buy information but how do they get such information when they even have no airtime,” he said. Police say up to 83 people died in the Bundibugyo, Kasese, Ntoroko incursions which the government blames on tribal vigilantes. The assailants targeted a police station and military barracks, although more civilians than security personnel perished during the surprise raids. The President, Brig Gwanga suggested, should instead call for a face-to-face meeting with lower-cadre detectives and “he will be shocked by their grievances”. In a July 7 statement on the attacks titled, Whatever a man sows that is what he will reap, Mr Museveni opined that: “Of course, there was a failure of Intelligence. How did these people (attackers) weave such a scheme without being pre-empted? What were the Gombolola Internal Security Officers (GISO) doing?” The GISOs are responsible for collating intelligence information in a sub-county, and as such, act as the first point of field reference on discreet security matters. Warning about attacks Days after the President broke his silence on the matter, the domestic spy agency said it shared with both police and the army specific information on suspicious preparations that pointed to imminent tribal raid. There is no explanation why the intelligence, if shared, was not acted upon and police said they were investigating the matter. This newspaper’s investigations show that the Intelligence agencies ran broke in December, last year, and the Ministry of Finance in March turned down their request for supplementary allocation. Yesterday, Brig Gwanga said inadequate financing and organisational weaknesses mean President Museveni, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, must task all security heads to explain how operational funds under classified budgets are used. He singled out the Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura, who is responsible for coordinating sister security agencies on internal security, to explain to the country why the western Uganda perpetrators were not on his radar. “Kasirye Gwanga does not supervise the IGP; he should act formally and professionally,” Police spokesman Fred Enanga said yesterday, calling the brigadier to order. Presidential spokesperson Tamale Mirundi, in a separate interview, blamed the onslaught in the Rwenzori region on “lack of commitment” by government entities, and urged Brig Gwanga not to publicise internal intelligence and security lapses that could inadvertently aid state enemies.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 07:49:39 +0000
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