As with the case of the General Court Martial, Uganda is rectifying the legal gaps in deploying troops to Juba, in what it argues is a move to protect President Salva Kiir, an ally of Kampala.
Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba said in a tweet that troops were heading to Juba to secure the presidency of Salva Kiir, before parliament endorsed such a deployment as is a legal requirement
“As of two days ago, our Special Forces units entered Juba to secure it,” Mr Muhoozi said on the X platform. “We, the UPDF (Ugandan military), only recognize one President of South Sudan, HE Salva Kiir… any move against him is a declaration of war against Uganda,” he added.
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Yet Uganda’s Minister for Defense Jacob Oboth Oboth told Uganda’s Parliament on Tuesday that there was no such deployment, for which Gen Muhoozi responded by undercutting the role of the minister in such matters.
According to him, the minister simply represents the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) in Parliament but is never involved in the operation of the army.
Article 210 of the Constitution of Uganda gives Parliament powers to approve any deployment of troops outside Uganda. It approved the first deployment to South Sudan in 2013, and 2015, when a war erupted there.
Parliament did approve troops to Somalia, where they served as part of an African Union mission, and also endorsed Uganda’s joint operation with Democratic Republic of Congo forces against the extremist group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
Uganda has since quickly followed up to rectify the legal gaps in the deployment. President Yoweri Museveni summoned members of Parliament from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) for a meeting at State House, Entebbe.
The participants in the meeting endorsed the deployment of Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) to the neighboring South Sudan, according to the Government Chief Whip, Denis Hamson Obua.
Officials said Uganda was responding to an SOS from President Kiir to have backup security, Uganda’s response to escalating tensions in South Sudan, where a local militia associated with First Vice President Riek Machar has terrorized the army.
“We the members of the NRM Parliamentary Caucus affirm that the deployment of the UPDF is in line with Uganda’s Constitution and the UPDF Act,” said Obua.
“We have resolved to support the deployment of the UPDF in South Sudan as a necessary intervention for peace enforcement to protect lives, restore stability, and prevent further escalation of conflict.”
Obua, who is also the Chairperson of the Caucus, revealed that the South Sudan President, Salva Kiir, had appealed to his Uganda counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, for military assistance.
“We are mindful of the recent appeal by HE Salva Kiir, President of the Republic of South Sudan, to HE Gen Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, for urgent support following the outbreak of conflict in South Sudan,” said Obua.
“The deployment is also in the spirit of brotherhood, solidarity, and security of Uganda and the economy.”
Mr Obua said the deployment did not seek parliamentary approval because peace enforcement is considered an emergency. He said the House can then approve retrospectively, adding that if it happens when Parliament is on recess, the speaker must summon the House within 21 days.
This is not the first time Uganda has deployed in South Sudan. The country’s army deployed in Juba and Bor in December 2013, when a fierce civil war erupted between Kiir and the forces loyal to Machar. The army withdrew in 2015 but was deployed again in 2016 after the two sides went to war again. They eventually left the country in 2016.
However, South Sudan has denied the existence of any new UPDF deployment.
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