Roundup: Experts say capture of Ugandan rebel leader signals end of ADF rebellion

Jamil Mukulu, the leader of Uganda's rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) was among the most wanted people by the country's security forces. Although he is now under police custody, questions still linger on whether his rebel group still has the capacity to cause havoc in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where it has been holed up for years.

Ugandan security agencies believe that Mukulu's arrest in Tanzania and subsequent extradition to Uganda is a major blow to the rebel group that caused wanton suffering to people in western Uganda in the 1990s and the continued mayhem in eastern DRC.

Uganda's police chief Gen. Kale Kayihura on Monday while parading Mukulu at the Special Operations Base located in the eastern Ugandan district of Jinja said his arrest marks the end of ADF.

"His arrest means that the ADF is summarily finished. This achievement is a very huge blow against acts of impunity and organized crime," said Kayihura.

"I would like to urge the remaining criminals out there to give themselves up for a possible amnesty from government instead of waiting to be arrested like Mukulu," he added.

Maj. Ronald Kakurungu, the second division Ugandan army spokesperson told Xinhua in an interview that most of the rebel groups derive their strength and morale from their leaders.

"When they are arrested or killed, they lose morale. Mukulu's arrest is a big blow to ADF," Kakurungu said.

"We are on guard to ensure the ADF is completely finished. The DRC forces are doing a good job. They have been able to destroy the ADF from their strong bases. Intensifying pressure will continue to degrade their fight capacity and the end of the rebel group," he said.

Asuman Bisika, a political commentator argued that the capture of Mukulu and the Congolese army killing of Mukulu's deputy, Abdalha Kabanda in April marks the end of ADF. "The command and control of the ADF was managed by Jamil Mukulu, Abdalha Kabanda and Kisokeranio in that hierarchy. Jamil Mukulu is in the custody of Ugandan authorities, Abdalha Kasanda and Hamza Jibril Bahwere are dead while Kisokeranio has denounced rebellion and returned home," said Bisika.

Bisika however argued that although ADF may be decimated, eastern DRC remains prone to armed insecurity.

Jason Stearns, a Senior Fellow and Director of the Congo Research Group argued that although the arrest of Mukulu along with a strong military offensive by the Congolese army will reduce the group to a shadow of itself, the outfit cannot just be written off.

Eastern DRC still remains lawless with many rebel groups capable of causing insecurity. There are however regional and international forces deployed to flush out the rebel groups. Combined efforts between the Congolese army and the UN troops deployed in eastern DRC have been critical in eliminating some of the rebel groups.

REGIONAL COOPERATION

After over 20 years of evading security forces both in Uganda and DRC, Mukulu was arrested in neighboring Tanzania where he had gone to procure a travel document for one of his children He was on the International Police's list of most wanted persons and also the UN Security Council had declared him a fugitive.After completing extradition procedures, Mukulu was airlifted to Uganda where he is destined to face several charges.

Principally Tanzania extradited him to Uganda following a case by Uganda that Mukulu was involved in the murder of Muslim clerics in eastern Uganda.

Besides those charges, Uganda argues that it is preparing to press more charges against him. Mukulu, according to Police Chief Kale Kayihura faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for the atrocities his group committed in Uganda.

DRC also wants Mukulu to answer for the atrocities the outfit continues to commit in the eastern part of the country. In April, Uganda and DRC lodged rival applications in Dar es Salaam for the extradition of Mukulu. DRC wanted him in the dock for a spate of killings, rape and sexual violence in the country's east.

A report published in May by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office accused the ADF of committing "systematic and extremely brutal violations", which "may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity" last year in DRC's Beni territory, North Kivu province.

The extradition of Mukulu from Tanzania to Uganda shows the degree of cooperation between the two East African countries.

"I would like to highly commend the Tanzanian government and its citizens for the resolve in taking this historic step to fight for the safety of their citizens and ours, by extraditing Jamil Mukulu," said Kayihura.

"It's a significant step that is warmly welcomed by Uganda, in our ongoing regional efforts as partners to ensure that those who seek to promote cross border criminality are brought to justice." Endi