Police in western Uganda have arrested the king of Rwenzururu, Charles Wesley Mumbere, over clashes between police and militia which killed at least 55 people, in the region on Sunday. Security forces stormed his palace amid claimed that he, King Mumbere, was harbouring fighters in his palace.
The King, who is being accused of inciting violence in the region, has been denied movement after records emerged that at least 14 police officers and 41 militants have died in the violent clash.
Meanwhile, a Ugandan government’s spokesperson, Shaban Bantariza , has accused the militia of seeking to break away from the Ugandan government.
He Said:
“These militiamen have set up camps in the Rwenzori Mountains from where they train and come to attack government installations.”
The state’s Police spokesperson, Andrew Felix Kaweesi, also disclosed that the attackers were fighting to create a new republic on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The king is now in police custody in the state’s capital, Kampala, together with several other people who were arrested when security forces stormed the king’s palace on Sunday.
Meanwhile, King Mumbere has denied any connections with the militia. His Bakonzo community on the border with the DR Congo has long been at loggerheads with the dominant Toro kingdom in the region, reports say. Years of clashes ended in 1982 with an agreement for more local autonomy and President Yoweri Museveni officially recognised the kingdom in 2009, but tensions have continued to simmer.
Between February and March this year, more than 50 people died in clashes between security forces and rebels in the area, police figures say. Source: CCTV Africa Image credit: Daily Monitor