|
By Emmy Allio
AS the trial of the suspected People’s Redemption Army (PRA) rebels took a new twist, with the suspects re-arrested from the High Court in Kampala, a former top PRA officer has revealed the origins of the shadowy group.
“Our objective was to overthrow the Government of President Yoweri Museveni, who we considered as a dictator,” Lt. Aziz Kashilingi said during an interview with Sunday Vision.
Dismissing claims that PRA is a creation of the Government to slap terrorism charges on members of the opposition, the former PRA instructor warned that the rebel group was still active and trying to merge with the Lord’s Resistance Army and Allied Democratic Front (ADF) to wage war on the country.
PRA came into existence after the 2001 election. Several youths, including UPDF soldiers, were lured to join a campaign they were made to believe was a just cause to topple the Government.
Kashilingi, who returned to Uganda late last year from Rwanda and was pardoned under the provisions of the Amnesty Act 2000, revealed that the PRA is still active in northeastern Congo and the West Nile region of Uganda.
The opposition in Uganda, led by the leader of the Forum for Democratic
Change (FDC) Dr. Kizza Besigye, have questioned the existence of the PRA. The suspects who were re-arrested last week after being granted bail are said to be among the group that was to lead operations inside Uganda. They are now facing fresh charges of murder in upcountry courts.
It is feared that if released, they will rejoin the PRA rebels and carry out their operations against the Government. However, several PRA, including another senior commander, Capt. James Katabazi, were recently released after being granted amnesty. About 16 who returned from Rwanda have also been pardoned.
Kashilingi, the son of Col. Ahmed Kashilingi, a technical security adviser to the Minister of Security disclosed that the PRA was formed by mainly Reform Agenda (RA) leaders after the general election of 2001.
PRA recruits were trained before deployment in northeastern Congo to fight UPDF soldiers who were there at the time.
Kashilingi said as a military force, PRA was defeated in March 2003 in Fataki in Congo’s Ituri district. The PRA had camped in Aboro hills after reaching an agreement with ethnic Lendu traditional leaders. Fataki and Mahagi were to be their rear bases.
However, their plans crumbled, following the deployment of Col. Edson Muzoora (who was formerly UPDF’s sector commander in Bunia) to Aboro hills, to take over from Joshua Babu.
The Lendus denounced Muzoora, claiming he had carried out ruthless operations against them as a UPDF commander.
“The Lendu were angered and attacked the PRA under their commander, Maitre Kiiza. They said all Ugandans were traitors like Muzoora,” Kashilingi explained.
Kiiza shot Babu and then fled to co-operate with the UPDF. In the ensuing battle, many PRA fighters were killed and 22 others were captured and flown to Uganda. (Many of these are still being detained in Luzira Prison).
Muzoora and his aide, Beinomugisha fled the Aboro hill fighting to Fataki. They reached Bule to link with another PRA force. “The PRA group of 17 fighters in Bule was under my command, but we were mixed with the Union for Patriotic Congolese (UPC) rebels of Thomas Lubanga. Before Muzoora could settle, the UPDF attacked Bule and we fought a five-hour battle,” he said.
The PRA then relocated to Blukwa, a hilly area in the heart of Lendu land an airstrip was prepared for Rwandan planes to airlift top military leaders: Col. Muzoora, Major Mugizi, Capt. Mutyaba and their escorts to Goma.
“I remained in Ituri until December 2003, when we moved to a neighbouring country, where the PRA high command was,” he stated.
There, the PRA rebels were confined in safe houses.
The High Command consisted of, among others, Muzoora, Col. Samson Mande, Col. Anthony Kyakabale, Mugizi, Mutyaba and Major Muhindo.
The PRA developed camps in the West Nile region in Uganda and in northeastern Congo. The camp in Koboko was led by Katabazi. The overall aim of the PRA was to infiltrate Uganda.
“My group was to use the Ntoroko-Semiliki route to gain access into Uganda. Other groups had different missions inside Uganda,” Kashilingi said.
“Conditions in the safe houses deteriorated and this made the majority of us decide to quit. We demanded to be allowed to go to another country to continue with our struggle,” said Kashilingi, who is a holder of a diploma in clearing and forwarding.
“We discovered that we were being used in a proxy war against Uganda,” he noted.
In May 2003, 14 PRA commanders led by Col. Mande and Col. Kyakabale were relocated to Sweden.
Kashilingi moved to Tanzania and while in Dar-es-Salaam, he contacted his father (Col. Ahmed Kashilingi) who linked him to the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI).
His colleagues have also since returned and received amnesty.
“They are free now, but not as bold as me to talk about PRA,” Kashilingi said of his colleagues now settled in the country.
He denied opposition claims that former PRA soldiers were lured with promises of money to seek amnesty.
“There is no deal with the Government. We discovered the futility of the war and sought amnesty and decided to tell the whole story of life in the PRA.”
Kashilingi said that some PRA soldiers are still active in the West Nile region and northeastern Congo. “These PRA soldiers and their political leaders are still a big security threat to Uganda.”
He said former PRA soldiers live under threat and are appealing for government support or re-integration into the military.
“We should be made to live honourable lives, otherwise we may get into trouble” he concluded.
Published on: Saturday, 3rd March, 2007
|
