4 Burundians Arrested İn Uganda For 'Long Beard'

Ugandan authorities are holding four Burundian nationals, all Christians, after Ugandan churchgoers reported them to police because one of them had a long beard – a characteristic many associate with terrorists.



"We were informed of concerns raised by worshippers over the appearance of some of the worshippers who were attending Palm Sunday Mass," Ugandan police spokesman Fred Enanga told reporters in Kampala.



He said police had received calls from worshippers at the Catholic Rubaga Cathedral who had grown suspicious by the appearance of the four.



"They felt threatened in that one of them had this long beard; they felt that probably he was not more of a Christian," said the police spokesman.



"We responded and made four arrests," he added.



"All these are Christians," Enanga asserted. "They had been conducting business. One of them is a driver and the others deal in second hand shoes."



Preliminary information received by police shows that the four have frequently come to Uganda.



"So we have asked our counter-terrorism unit to carry out further vetting and processing of their stay here," Enanga told reporters.



Police say the three had expired visas and that if no criminal intentions are proved against them, they would be charged with illegal stay.



Spokesman Enanga, meanwhile, cautioned the public against profiling.



"It is not that because somebody is wearing a beard, he should be taken to be a terrorist," he said.



"Terrorists are defined by their actions, motives and their behavior, so we really need to be careful in getting to conclude that because somebody is wearing a long beard, that makes him un-Christian and he is going to a Christian facility that means he is a suspect," added the spokesman.



The U.S. embassy in Kampala issued a terror alert last week, warning westerners that they could be targets of an imminent attack.



Since then, Ugandan authorities have stepped up security in and around the capital.



"We have heightened the level of security and our mobile teams are on the ground," said Enanga. "We are still sustaining the operations until we are really sure there is no threat."



www.aa.com.tr/en - Kampala