|
|
 Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم (Re: Ibrahim Adlan)
|
Reports reaching The New Times Investigative Desk indicate that the Russian built Mi-17 Ugandan Presidential chopper, in which the Sudanese first Vice President Lt. Gen. Dr John Garang met his death, was involved in six 'crash incidents' eight months earlier and was not airworthy.
Garang was returning to his base in New Site, southern Sudan, after holding talks with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
According to a source close to Uganda's Presidential Guard Brigade who spoke to this reporter on condition of anonymity, the latest crash was in a potato garden in Wakiso district and involved the Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni.
Yesterday The Monitor also reported that the parliamentary committee on Presidential and Foreign Affairs had recommended the purchase of a new chopper instead of overhauling the one that took Garang's life. The Paper quoted an MP and member of the Presidential and Foreign Affairs' committee, Mr. Aggrey Awori, saying "This helicopter had structural problems. It was unfit to fly at night. I told the State House Comptroller [Richard Muhinda] that we should buy a new helicopter at $5 million but he insisted that they could repair it for $2.5 million", adding, "I told him [Muhinda] that they were taking a chance with the President's life. I even argued with the Presidential Guard Brigade [PGB] recently over the same issue."
However, in a telephone interview Ugandan Defense and Army Spokesman, Lt. Col. Shaban Bantariza said that the allegations of six crash incidences involving the fateful chopper were a hoax. "Dismiss the rumours. That is not true. Not true at all," Bantariza emphasised.
Bantariza further dismissed allegations that the chopper's flying hours had expired. "The helicopter had been overhauled about a month ago. Now it has a flight time of eight years," he said.
"I don't have the figures of the helicopters flight time before it was taken for re-servicing. But normally the pilots and other flight technical teams notify the Army Commander about the need for overhauling the helicopter and the latter endorses it. This is what happened to the helicopter in which Garang crashed," Bantariza added.
However, a source close to the Ugandan Ministry of Defense told this reporter that after its involvement in the six crash incidents, the chopper was put on hold for the last eight months until it was cleared to airlift Gen. Garang to New Site in the Sudan.
After the death of Dr. Garang the Ugandan president Mr. Yoweri Museveni issued a statement saying, "It has now been confirmed that our dear brother, Dr John Garang, 1st Vice President of the Sudan and President of Southern Sudan, with others, died in a helicopter crashâ-oeHe was aboard our Presidential helicopter M1-172 (VIP version) piloted by Colonel Nyakairu and Capt. Kiyimba. Major Kigundu was the flight Engineer. The helicopter was a recently overhauled executive helicopter that has served us well for the last 8 yearsâ-oeI have decided to create a panel of three (3) experts to look into this crash. The Minister of Transport will name the team. We have also approached a certain foreign government to rule out any form of sabotage or terrorism", the statement seen by The New Times reads in part.
Media reports indicate that the presidential chopper that killed the founder and leader of the twenty three-year SPLM/A rebel organization crashed in southern Sudan due to poor weather conditions. The Nation and The East African Standard had reported that after realizing that the weather was bad and the helicopter couldn't land, the pilots wanted to fly back to Entebbe but the chopper lacked sufficient fuel.
In the interview Bantariza also dispelled assertions that the chopper could have been brought down by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel outfit that has been fighting the government of President Yoweri Museveni for the last eighteen years.
"LRA rebels have no technology to shoot down the ultra-modern presidential chopper. The crash wasn't in their area of operation. The crash was in the far east of Imatong hills. Far away from the rebels," Bantariza said. During his meeting with President Museveni Gen. Garang gave an ultimatum to Joseph Kony's LRA to leave southern Sudan.
"Kony doesn't have the capacity to shoot the helicopter at night. He wasn't even in the area of the crash," said Bantariza.
Asked whether the helicopter was junk, Bantariza replied: "The helicopter had been functional and in better condition and had just been overhauled about a month ago." He added that president Museveni had been using the chopper while touring parts of northern Uganda, recently.
When contacted over the matter the Ugandan Presidential Guard Brigade (PGB) Spokesman Lt. Edison Kwesiga, told this reporter that the presidential chopper had never been involved in any crash incidents as alleged. "Not true. Not true. Learn from me the helicopter has never crashed," Kwesiga said.
The presidential chopper belonging to the Ugandan military crashed into the mountainous terrain of Imatong hills, killing all 14 people on board that included seven crew members and six companions.
According to the Uganda Defense Ministry Website, "Gen.Garang had been in Uganda for a two-day official visit. On Saturday he left President Yoweri Museveni's country home in Rwakitura, Mbarara where Museveni introduced him to envoys who included the US Ambassador Mr. Jimmy Kolker, Mr. Tore Gjos of Norway, Mrs. Yoke Brandt of the Netherlands and British High Commissioner, Mr. Francois Gordon.
Relevant Links
East Africa
North Africa
Uganda
Transport and Shipping
Sudan
Peacekeeping and Conflict Resolution
Civil War and Communal Conflict
'Thereafter Garang left Rwakitura in the afternoon headed for Southern Sudan, where he expected to meet former commanders of Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army (SPLA),' read the report in part.
In the past, the Ugandan military has been accused of and implicated in the purchase of junk military equipment, including choppers.
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
|
| العنوان |
الكاتب |
Date |
 حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | Ibrahim Adlan | 08-09-05, 10:13 AM |
| Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | Ibrahim Adlan | 08-09-05, 10:32 AM |
| Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | Ibrahim Adlan | 08-09-05, 11:21 AM |
| Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | خدر | 08-09-05, 11:34 AM |
| Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | Ibrahim Adlan | 08-09-05, 11:38 AM |
| Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | Ibrahim Adlan | 08-09-05, 11:56 AM |
| Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | Ibrahim Adlan | 08-09-05, 12:04 PM |
| Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | خدر | 08-09-05, 12:09 PM |
| Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | Ibrahim Adlan | 08-09-05, 12:53 PM |
| Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | Ibrahim Adlan | 08-09-05, 01:40 PM |
| Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | Ibrahim Adlan | 08-09-05, 05:09 PM |
| Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | Ibrahim Adlan | 08-09-05, 05:15 PM |
| Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | Ibrahim Adlan | 08-10-05, 08:15 AM |
| Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | أبو ساندرا | 08-13-05, 06:10 AM |
| Re: حالة الطقس في عنتبي ذلك اليوم المشؤم | saif massad ali | 08-13-05, 06:30 AM |
|
| |
فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست