UGANDA IS DEMANDING 4,700,000 US DOLLARS FOR COMPENSATING THEIR FALLEN SOLDIERS IN SOMALIA
By Godfrey Olukya 8-1-2014
Uganda’s defense minister, Cryspus Kiyonga has told the press in Kampala that Uganda demands African Union(AU) a compensation package of 4,700,000 million US dollars which is meant to be paid to the families of the 94 Uganda peoples defence force (UPDF) officers who have so far lost their lives in the line of duty in Somalia.
In 2008 Uganda sent troops in Somalia to help in fighting against Islamic militants who had taken over the government, killed innocent civilians and made the country ungovernable. Later Burundi, Ethiopia and Kenya also sent there troops and currently much of the country has been liberated from the militants.
While speaking at the opening of the Africa mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and AU meeting in Kampala the defense
minister, it was agreed by the Ugandan government and the AU to meet a 50,000 US dollars compensation package for each soldier who dies while on duty in Somalia but still 94 of these soldiers have not received their compensation package.
It’s upon that matter that Kiyonga reminds AU to meet its obligations. He wants AU to consider meeting the packages which the families of the dead soldiers are strongly asking for.
Kiyonga said, ”For two to three years families of the fallen soldiers have not been paid compensation. That is not good because it might cause problems. We may reach a point when the soldiers in the field will say no, we cannot fight if no one can look after our families if we die during battle.”
The deputy special representative for AU for Somalia Lydia Wanyoto while delivering her chairman’s speech stressed the need to make structural changes in Somalia to help the mission expeditiously achieve its target and also calls for the diversion of massive attention to the rescue populations.
In a related development, the senior adviser to the Somalia Federal Government Abdulai Muhammed who also read the speech of his interior minister, called for the need to help out Somalia build a strong army as well as extend better social services to the needy.Cue Abdulai. Eng.
