Sisters woman evades terrorism in Uganda trip

Janet Storton got a closer-than-comfortable glimpse of what it's like to be a target of terrorists during her latest trip to Uganda.

Storton travels to the East African nation regularly in support of Sisters of the Heart, the vocational training program she has nurtured in the mountains there for years. Usually, her trips are centered on the mountain village of Kapchorwa. In this most recent visit, she was asked to speak to members of parliament about the program in Kapchorwa. That meant spending several days in the capital city of Kampala.

"I knew I had to be in Kampala for five or six days, which is unusual because I'm usually there for a day and head for the ... mountains," she recalled.

She shopped for wholesale fabrics in the textile manufacturing section of the city, and visited a large shopping mall.

While she was there, the Ugandan authorities, based on intelligence from American operatives in the region, uncovered a plot by al-Shabaab, a Somali Islamist militant group, to attack targets in the capital - including the shopping mall - in retaliation for Ugandan support of Western efforts to decapitate the leadership of the terrorist organization.

The Wall Street Journal reported on September 13, "The Ugandan police Saturday foiled an attempted terror attack in the capital of Kampala, a police spokesman said, in what appeared as an unsuccessful reprisal strike by the Somali militant group al-Shabaab.

"Security officials arrested several suspects and recovered explosive materials during an operation in Kampala, Fred Enanga, the police spokesman, told reporters.

"The development comes less than a week after the U.S. embassy in the country warned that al-Shabaab may try to exact revenge for a U.S. airstrike that killed the militant group's commander, Ahmed Abdi Godane, earlier this month."

The attacks also appeared timed to coincide with the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. and the attack on the Libyan consulate in Benghazi on September 11, 2012.

"They decided to retaliate against Uganda, who had been helping the Americans, and hunt down Americans in Uganda," Storton said.

That meant she was a potential target. The threat is not to be taken lightly. Al-Shabaab gunmen perpetrated the massacre at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya in September 2013.

Fortunately, she was staying with an English missionary couple in a housing compound with excellent security. Under instruction from the U.S. Embassy, Storton stayed there - and stayed indoors.

"If anything happens in the country while I'm there, I'm notified," Storton explained. "It's an alert system... I was in a nice neighborhood. That was the best place I could have been."

Far from feeling intimidated by the foiled attack, Storton believes the counter-terrorist operation in Kampala is evidence that American intelligence and Ugandan security forces "are on top of it."

"They've learned that you can't mess with Uganda," she said. "That wasn't the place to try to retaliate."

Once the arrests were made, Storton had her meeting with the parliamentarians.

"We presented a proposal for government funding, to build dormitories to bring in people from outside Kapchorwa for vocational training," Storton said.

Her trip up into the mountains was uneventful. She had a private driver, and the pastor from Kapchorwa ventured down to ride up with her.

"Once I got to the mountains, they made sure I was safe," Storton recalled. "The ladies I work with were with me constantly."

Storton will continue to travel to Uganda several times a year, undeterred by her recent experience.

"I never felt afraid," she noted. "I've gone enough times that I really know where to stay away from. I'd go back next week."

For more information on Storton's work in Uganda, visit www.sistersoftheheartfoundation.org.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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