The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah has praised the book detailing the exceptional successes registered by the UPDF the entire African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in the deadly Horn of African nation.
Oulanyah who was the chief guest at the signing ceremony of the book titled “Black Hawks Rising” written by Canadian based Ugandan writer, Dr. Opio Oloya, at Garden City Kampala, said it was a great sacrifice for the National Army to move to Mogadishu in 2007 when it was untouchable.
“It was not a simple thing for the UPDF to move to Somalia at a time when it was a no go zone. Since the 1993 disaster, everyone had been distancing themselves from the place (Mogadishu) but our army braved and this book has helped put things together,” Oulanyah said.
According to the Deputy Speaker, Black Hawks Rising is a true story of African solution for African problems.
“Thinking about the title of the book someone can decipher Hawks for the American helicopters or Indian revolutionary but Black Hawks Rising is a perfect description of African solutions for African problems. Our army moved and made wonders where hopes had been lost,” he stated.
Black Hawks Rising acknowledges the formation and deployment of African Union Mission in Somalia in March 2007 and how it metamorphosed from peacekeeping confined within the enclave of capital Mogadishu to peace-making mission that later pacified the whole country.
The book also reveals the interests and secret roles played by super powers in the Somalia crisis.
President Yoweri Museveni officially launched the book on June 9, 2016 during Hero’s Day celebrations in Buikwe district.
The signing ceremony on Saturday was organized by Uganda Reading, a movement formed to promote reading culture in the country according to their objectives and vision.