The death toll from the terrorist attack on the Mpondwe high school near the Congolese border on the night of June 16-17, 2023, has risen to 43 in Uganda.
In the aftermath, the opposition blamed the government, in particular, for Uganda’s security capabilities.
“The attack could be the group’s revenge for the engagement of Ugandan soldiers against it in the DRC,” according to some parties.
Brigadier-General Kulayigye denies this: “The Pondwe attack was opportunistic. The aim was to get our men to return to Uganda, because of the pressure they were under in the Congo. It’s not revenge. The DRC is not their country, so they can’t take revenge for a country where they themselves are foreigners.”
On June 21, 2023, opposition politician Abdallah Kiwanuka argued that the deployment of the army abroad was reducing the country’s security capabilities.
He called on the authorities to order the return of these soldiers to the country.