Ugandan Army ‘undisciplined’

Press, 19 August 1985, Page 10

Ugandan Army ‘undisciplined’

NZPA-AP Kampala Only weeks after toppling Milton Obote, Uganda’s new military rulers are struggling with a problem that helped bring down the civilian President — an undisciplined and uncontrollable Army. “It’s the same army that was running things under Obote. It was undisciplined then and it’s undisciplined now,” said a Ugandan journalist. “I think it will take some time to instill discipline in that Army.” While grappling with the Eroblem of its own Army, Uganda’s military brass-turned-rulers must also deal with the rebel National Resistance Army, commanded by the former Defence Minister, Yoweri Museveni. The rebels, who had been fighting the Obote Government since early 1981, have so far rejected peace over-

tures from the new regime. Some travellers through areas now thought to be under rebel control said that there seemed to be an undeclared truce between the insurgents and soldiers. They said that Government soldiers in many cases simply surrendered their weapons to the rebels without a fight. The Government soldiers who keep their weapons are often the bigger problem because they frequently use the guns to rob or terrorise the citizenry. Uganda’s military rulers swore in seven more Ministers, yesterday bringing to 18 the number of people appointed to the Cabinet since last month’s coup. The new Ministers were sworn in at a ceremony attended by Lieutenant-Gen-eral Tito Okello, head of the ruling Military Council.