The government of the United Kingdom has alerted its citizens in Uganda of possible terrorist attacks in the country.
A statement was released on Thursday 14th October 2021 in which the UK government warned that it is possible that there would be terrorist activity in the country. This alert is as a result of the UK’s concern of there being high global terrorist attack on their interests and citizens from persons that are inspired by interests in the Iraq and Syrian conflicts.
“Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Uganda. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners” reads part of the statement.
As such, they appealed to the UK citizens to beware and extra careful especially when in crowded public and popular places which include bars, stadiums, public transportation parks, markets, places of worship, restaurants and hotels. These have in the past been targeted areas for terrorists.
Kyadondo Rugby Club and Ethiopian Village in Kabalagala, both in Kampala were bombed in twin bombings on July 11, 2010 leaving 70 people dead and many injured. This was during the airing of the World Cup Finals and both places were crowded with people trying to catch the match and have a good time.
The Uganda Police, while doing all it can to avert the risk of any more attacks or threats of the sort, by carrying out searches and reminding the public to remain vigilant, maintains that there is no cause for panic at the moment.
“Despite the emerging sleeper cells our terror alert levels are not elevated yet,” said Fred Enanga, the Police Spokesperson confirming the presence of sleeper cells in the country. There is also no clarity on which terrorist groups are stirring up the threat. However, just last week, it is reported that a suspected ADF rebel, Hamid Nsubuga was shot dead in Kampala.
It is alleged that he intended to assassinate a local politician and had in August attempted to bomb mourners at the burial of Lt. Gen. Paul Lokech in Pader.
This terror alert by the UK government also unfortunately puts the tourism sector of Uganda in a bad position, given it has already been crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic that forced many countries all over the world to put in place lockdowns to try and control the spread of the virus. This reduced the number of tourists coming in to the country. A terror alert will only further bring down the number of tourists coming to the country.