The United States of America has issued security warnings, urging its citizens to reconsider travelling to Uganda over crime and security-related threats.
The US issued a travel advisory yesterday, at which it upgraded Uganda’s security threat level to III, which is the second-highest level.
“Reconsider travelling to Uganda due to crime and terrorism,” the US travel alert read.
This travel alert comes in a day after the US sanctioned the chief of Military Intelligence, Maj Gen Abel Kandiho, accusing him of superintending over violation of the rights of political opponents of the government.
The Ugandan army has also just started operations in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in pursuit of the Allied Democratic Forces rebels, who they accuse of carrying out four terror attacks in Kampala and on Masaka Road that left nine people dead last month.
“Terrorist groups active in Uganda have claimed responsibility for recent bombings in and near Kampala. While the attacks do not appear to have targeted foreigners, anyone can be a victim of acts of violence” read the US advisory.
“Violent crime such as armed robbery, home invasion, and sexual assault, can occur at any time especially in larger cities, including Kampala and Entebbe. Local police may lack appropriate resources to respond effectively to serious crime,” it adds.
US alerts are taken seriously by other countries given the country’s intelligence capabilities. The US embassy often updates its travel advisory depending on safety levels.
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga said they weren’t aware of any specific threats in the country. But he said they will reach out to the US embassy to get details of the advisory.
“Most of those security advisories are general in nature. If you get an alert, it calls for better response and vigilance and intelligence against the threat,” he said.