Since the announcement of their deployment in October, 2018 in Kampala Metropolitan areas, Local Defence Unit (LDU) personnel have been accused of extortion and brutality. In this time of lockdown as a preventive measure to fight COVID-19, LDUs together with Police have once again been seen violently handling Ugandans.
Though he accepts that some LDUs break the law during enforcement operations, UPDF First Division Spokesperson Maj Bilal Katamba says several accusations against the officers are deliberate.
“I call upon all Ugandans to avoid the spread of fake news. We know it is deliberate, it is planned but we will follow it up and get the culprits,” says Maj Bilal Katamba.
He believes the LDUs have done a commendable job in fighting crime and with no doubt they have boosted other security agencies.
“We are not here to brutalise anyone. The criminals we are looking for are in communities so we ask residents to cooperate with us and we will get them,” he says.
He reveals that the secret behind the activeness of the personnel is that their welfare is up the standard.
“We give them clothes, good shelter and good meals,” he claims.