US warns its citizens of February polls violence
By Norman S. Miwambo
31st January 2011
The United States government has warned its citizens in Uganda to be cautious as they go about their daily lives, especially during the voting month of February.
The urgent “Warden Message” of January 25th titled “Heightened Security Awareness” has been availed to all top US security agencies and US citizens living in Uganda. It said, “…this Warden Message is to alert all U.S. citizens living in Uganda of heightened security concerns that regional terror groups [including al-Qaida and the Somalia-based al-Shabaab] remain actively interested in attacking U.S. interests in Uganda”.
The message then added that, “…we are particularly concerned about the month of February. In light of this threat, the U.S. Mission in Kampala cautions U.S. citizens to take the following measures: Be alert…and report any suspicious activity to the police by calling 999”.
The US asked its citizens to ask themselves what they would do in case of an attack. Presumably, a plan would then be conceived as a result of that. US citizens were also asked to avoid large public gatherings, especially those with large numbers of Westerners.
The need to avoid such gatherings, the message said, is especially reinforced if there appears to be no visible security presence. The US also asked its citizens to keep their mobile phones fully charged at all times. END. Please log into www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
