Ugandan tribal king arrested as 55 killed

UGANDAN police stormed the palace of a tribal king and arrested him yesterday after fierce clashes between security forces and a separatist militia they believe is linked to him killed 55, police said.

Heavy fighting broke out Saturday in the western town of Kasese, home to King CharlesWesley Mumbere of the Rwenzururu kingdom, when his royal guards attacked patrolling security forces, killing 14 police officers and 41 militants, said police spokesman Andrew Felix Kaweesi.

President Yoweri Museveni phoned the king on Sunday morning and ordered him to disband the guards, who are believed to be part of a militia agitating for the creation of an independent republic straddling Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“We took time to talk to the king to get those people out but the king was non-compliant. The only option was to storm the palace and get those people out and get him out for his own security and safety,” Kaweesi said.

“He has to explain his involvement in these incidents. He will be charged with inciting violence and brought to Kampala.”

Violence has been simmering in the region all week, with four militants killed when they attacked a police post on Thursday, a police spokeswoman said. Kaweesi said members of the royal guard threw an improvised grenade at patrolling officers on Saturday, prompting them to open fire and kill four of the “attackers”.

“That incident set off an explosion in all local sub-counties,” he said, adding that fighting between militants – not all of them royal guards – armed with guns and spears and security forces had continued until late in the evening.