Cultural leaders have asked government to re-deploy the UPDF guards withdrawn early this week from the Rwenzururu King Wesley Mumbere.
This was resolved at Uganda Kings and Cultural Leaders’ Forum meeting held last evening at the Rwenzururu kingdom palace in Kasese town to try to defuse the conflicts in the region.
Isabaruuli Mwogezi Butanyanya, the group’s chairperson says it is his constitutional right to be guarded by government.
Isabaruli says the country has been fed on lies that Rwenzururu kingdom is agitating for independent state in Uganda which he described as cheap political talk by enemies of the kingdom.
The UPDF this week withdrew its guards from King Mumbere’s palace following a Sunday evening shooting in which 2 UPDF soldiers died near the palace.
They were shot by the royal guards after a misunderstanding.
The post-election violence in the region has left about 45 people dead including civilians, police and army. Of the dead, 15 are from Kasese while the rest died in Bundibugyo district.
The escalating tension in the region has prompted the President to pitch camp at the State lodge at Njara in Fort Portal since Tuesday.
He has since ordered the heavy deployment of UPDF soldiers in the hilly Ntoroko, Kasese and Bundibugyo districts on Mount Rwenzori ranges.
Story By Morris Mumbere & Felix Basiime
