The Arua District Security Committee has ordered all religious institutions to register all homiletic lessons and children attending religious studies in the relevant offices.
“All religious leaders in Arua district must document all homiletic activities currently being conducted by various denominations. We have discovered that religious leaders are using this session to indoctrinate children into rebel recruitment,” Arua RDC Ham Ezama said on Monday.
RDC Ezama said security has discovered that some terrorists are masquerading as those spreading religion, yet their target is only to radicalize young people into terrorism.
He added that this will help the security agencies monitor the kind of messages imparted to the children in a bid to curtail the recruitment of children into ADF ranks.
RDC Ham revealed that there are grave concerns about minors joining criminal gangs and rebel outfits under the guise of religious studies.
According to Ham, security agencies are monitoring all social places, which are allegedly acting as domains for the recruitment of and collection centers for children already exposed to ideological messages and beliefs.
In April 2018, the Usafi Mosque in Kampala was raided by the security forces after it emerged that the facility was being used as a training center for Islamic extremism, and over 36 suspected terrorists were arrested.
Recently, in Ntoroko district, security captured about eight children who had been trained as fighters by the ADF.