By Aggrey Baba
Hon Justin Kasule Lumumba, the minister for ICT and National Guidance has revealed how basic military training she received as a Senior Six student helped her disarm an attacker years ago, only for her to be shot by another gunman she had not seen coming.
She made the revelation on Tuesday while responding to questions about a proposal to revive the practice of taking Senior Six students to Kyankwanzi for patriotism and basic military orientation.
She said the programme existed during her own Senior Six vacation and before, and that she personally went through it before joining university.
The training provided students with basic military orientation and limited practical skills in areas such as firearm handling, self-defence, field movement and survival in the event of an attack.
The minister said students were taught how to disassemble, assemble and clean a gun, protect themselves during an attack, evade an enemy and disarm someone holding a gun.
What she learnt in training, however, was soon put to a real-life test.
Lumumba recalled that after returning home, armed attackers raided the area where she was staying.
She said she managed to disarm one of the attackers, using the skills she had acquired during the Senior Six training, but the situation quickly turned dangerous when she discovered that the attackers had another firearm.
“Little did I know that they had another gun, and they shot me,” Lumumba said, further explaining that the incident made her one of the people who have personally tested a bullet.
“I’m one of those Ugandans who have ever even tested a bullet,” she said, while indicating that she would give more details about the incident another time.
Lumumba explained that the old training programme was partly intended to reduce the fear associated with firearms, which she said had been heightened by the misuse of guns under previous regimes.
The proposed programme, however, would have a broader focus, she said, with current training aimed at helping young people fight poverty and adapt to a technology-driven economy.
The proposal to take Senior Six vacists to Kyankwanzi was reportedly raised by the head of the Patriotism Secretariat in the Office of the President during a pass-out ceremony. Lumumba said the programme had existed before being discontinued and that students in her generation were given the option of undertaking the training during their vacation before university.
She stressed, however, that the current proposal has not yet been approved by Cabinet, adding that the Patriotism Secretariat and the Office of the President would have to work with the Ministry of Education and formally present the proposal to Cabinet before Government can make a decision.
Lumumba therefore declined to commit Government to reviving the programme until the proposal is formally brought forward for discussion. She said, the idea remains a proposal rather than an approved Government programme. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
