An assessment of national and regional measures in curbing down terrorism in Uganda

Abstract

A number of interventions have been adopted nationally by the government of Uganda, regionally in the Great Lakes Region and even internationally with much financial resources injected to curb down terrorism in Uganda and the Region, but the terrorism threats still exist. The study focuses mainly on the assessment of national and regional measures in curbing down terrorism in Uganda. It assesses the current terrorism policies, root causes and effects that emerge after these attacks in Uganda. The objectives of the research was to gain a deep understanding and assessing the effectiveness of the existing national and regional measures towards curbing down terrorism in Uganda. The approach for data collection was qualitative with a semi-structured questionnaire, and interviewing key informants in government institutions plus individuals of international repute knowledgeable in the terrorism phenomenon. A study population was determined and a sample size of 50 respondents was got using simple random sampling technique. Respondents were got majorly from the Police Counter Terrorism Unit and the Bomb Squad, Ministry of Internal Affairs, the army, embassies and staff of international agencies; and these respondents were broken down respectively. The summary findings of the thesis indicated that the many measures available are not fully effective and properly enforced by government security departments in place. At the regional level, due to the collective approach, there is an element of success in implementation as compared to the national Ugandan initiatives that still require strengthening. Other findings were; some of the people engaged in terrorism acts were intellectuals; most of whom were Muslim fundamentalists and unemployed. At the national level, the findings revealed that there is laxity and poor law enforcement in Uganda hence free porous borders allowing in terrorists to enter inland with inadequate checks. The major recommendations pointed out include: strengthening government anti terrorism departments, conducting continuous mass mobilization and sensitizing the people on the dangers of terrorism within Uganda and the East African region through dialogue sessions, training in schools (all through primary secondary to tertiary institutions), conducting quarterly and bi annual press reviews on terrorism, and initiating of vocational jobs for the unemployed youth.