A former member of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the rebels blamed for the recent suicide bombings in Uganda’s capital, says the Islamic-State linked group uses fear to keep its recruits in line.
“The group is run on Sharia. If you steal, you lose an arm. If you rape a child, you die. If you tell a lie about someone and you’re found out, you die,” Peter, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, told the BBC.
He chuckles rather menacingly throughout our conversation – seemingly to deflect from the trauma he carries.
The young man was forcibly recruited and spent two years as a militant, witnessing amputations and beheadings – sometimes of his comrades.
The fear this engendered, as well as an Islamist ideology and the establishment of links with the Islamic State (IS) group, has made the ADF a threat to Uganda once again.
For years, Uganda’s government has said the ADF was a defeated force, but that no longer seems true.
