Defense Minister Adolf Mwesige has said nobody should question the involvement of the UPDF in the Coronavirus fight because they are mandated by the Constitution.
Addressing press Thursday, Mwesige said the primary role of the UPDF is to protect and defend the sovereignty and integrity of Uganda.
The UPDF has played that role very well, he noted.
“We’re confronted with a disease we have not yet experienced. Coronavirus is spread by human to human contact. It is not easy to control human to human contact because by nature we must relate,” he added.
On his part Lieutenant General Wilson Mbasu Mbadi, Deputy Chief of the Defense Forces and Inspector General of the UPDF, said:
Let. Gen. Mbadi: If we all comply, we can defeat this disease.#NBSUpdates #COVID19 #StaySafeUg pic.twitter.com/u1znr9RY0J— NBS Television (@nbstv) April 2, 2020
“If we all comply [with coronavirus guidelines], we can defeat this disease.”
Speaking at the same press conference held at Uganda Media Centre, Gen Katumba Wamala said the stickers that were given to people with cars only “grant you exemption” to drive around the Kampala Great Metropolitan area.
“If anyone wants to go past Kampala, they will have to seek permission,” he explained.
He said the stickers are not for show, they are for essential services.
Gen Katumba Wamala: The stickers that were given only grant you exemption to drive around the Kampala Great Metropolitan area and if anyone wants to go past Kampala, they will have to seek permission…#NBSUpdates #COVID19 #StaySafeUg pic.twitter.com/wY90PJiHEP— NBS Television (@nbstv) April 2, 2020
UPDF soldier beaten
Meanwhile, Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) soldier is nursing injuries he sustained after he was attacked by a gang of youth as he was on duty implementing the presidential directives in Mityana District.
Gen Katumba Wamala clarifies on stickers that allow essential workers to move.#NBSUpdates #COVID19 #StaySafeUg pic.twitter.com/9uPboZYkxQ— NBS Television (@nbstv) April 2, 2020
Sgt Paul Kyandiya was attacked at around 9 pm on Tuesday while implementing the curfew announced by President Museveni on Monday evening as one of the measures to prevent further spread of the COVID-19.
The curfew which runs between 7 pm and 6:30 am took effect on Tuesday and is supposed to last a period of two weeks.
It is alleged that the assailants hit the soldier with a blunt metallic object which left him with a fractured arm.
