The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
By the Independent Team
One of the key issues identified in crippling LRA is to kill its leader, Kony. This is not the first time voices in UPDF are saying this. In 2002, then Chief of Military Intelligence and Security, Brig. Noble Mayombo, began negotiations with a private security firm in Britain made up of former SAS officers. The SAS is a crack regiment of the British army that carries out clandestine missions for the UK government. Mayombo was negotiating the price at which ex-members of this crack unit could kill Kony.
According to inside sources, Mayombo negotiated with Armour Group which is the security firm employing largely ex-SAS commandoes. They finally agreed on the price of US$ 1.5m.
The plan was taken to President Museveni who gave it a go ahead. However, before Armour Group could move into northern Uganda and or southern Sudan for the operation, the British government got wind of the plan.
According to informed sources, the British government had only a few weeks earlier been involved in a scandal of this nature in Sierra Leone which brought it considerable diplomatic embarrassment. It was discovered that ex-SAS officers had been used to carry out operations in that country and payments for the work came from the British Finance ministry, the Exchequer.
The British got concerned that if the Mayombo plan leaked, they would suffer another embarrassment and therefore called Armour Group and told them not to proceed with the deal. Kony survived to live another day.
