Members of Parliament under the ruling party, NRM has okayed the deployment of national troops in South Sudan. The East African nation has been battling with power issues, with civil war causing loss of lives and displacement of hundreds of thousands of its nationals.
Recently, the Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of South Sudan, fired some military chiefs amid attempts at overthrowing him from the Presidency. Kiir, a strong ally of President Museveni, had to be supported by military commandoes from Uganda.
The deployment, however, faced mixed reactions. Ugandan MPs questioned why such would be taken without the approval of the House. Interestingly, Defence and Veteran Affairs Minister, Jacob Oboth Oboth told Parliament that no UPDF troops were in South Sudan.
In reply, UPDF acting spokesperson, now known as Defence Public Information Officer Col Chris Magezi, told his Minister Oboth that he’s not supposed to know. “Your job is simply to represent us in Parliament, nothing else.”
While MPs and some Ugandans think the deployment was inappropriate, now, it’s appropriate following the resolution by the NRM MPs on Friday. In a resolution paper signed by the Government Chief Whip Obua Denis Hamson, MP of Ajuri County in Alebtong, the NRM caucus resolved to support the deployment of the UPDF in South Sudan.
The MPs call the deployment as a necessary intervention for peace enforcement to protect lives, restore stability, and prevent further escalation of conflict.
They also resolved to support the proposal for Parliamentary approval of the deployment of UPDF in accordance with Uganda’s Constitution and the UPDF Act.
The caucus said it recognised the shared historical and regional ties between Uganda and South Sudan, and affirmed that the deployment is in line with Uganda’s Constitution.
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