UPDF announces return of LDUs; to do night patrols and intelligence work

The spokesperson of Ugandan army UPDF and the defense ministry Brig Gen Flavia Byekwaso has said LDUs will return to work after weeks of training.

Operations of the Local Defense Unit (LDUs) were suspended after cases of brutality meted out on Ugandans during the enforcement of Covid19 lockdown measures.

Read: Calls to disband LDU: Army speaks out

But in a statement issued on August 11, Byekwaso said the the LDUs would only take part in night enforcement activities to as a way of reducing crime rate.

“Owing to the withdrawal of Local Defence Forces from active operations to go back for refresher training, the level of criminality has since increased especially during the night,” Byekwaso said in a statement.

She further claimed that local leaders and members of general public had asked the UPDF to bring back the LDUs to fight night crime.

Byekwaso also noted that the decision to return LDUs to work had followed “in-depth consultations with security stakeholders.”

The security stakeholders, went on Byekwaso, had agreed that LDUs “who have undergone and completed their training, resume their operations only at night, in support of Uganda Police Force to curtail criminal activities.”

The LDUs will also “participate in intelligence-led limited operations on specific targets on request and in support of Uganda Police Force.”

But they will not be allowed to participate in the enforcement of Covid19 measures during day time.

“The public is therefore implored to cooperate with and support these forces in this noble duty of ensuring that every Ugandan is safe and secure from any threat and all acts of criminality.”