{UAH} COPS’ INSENSITIVITY BORDERS ON THE SUBVERSIVE II

The article POLICE INSENSITIVITY BORDERS ON THE SUBVERSIVE, which
appeared in Red Pepper of Thursday August 8, 2013, enlisted resonating
reactions, all of which were in concurrence with the views reflected
therein. This is a sequel.

There is case of an elderly man who left Kisoro for Kampala to trace
for his daughter who had absconded from school and eloped with a man.
The elderly father had been told that his jumpy daughter lived in
Kamwokya, where he managed to find himself one evening, without
directions or certainty of where he was going. Thanks to the devil,
some cops found him on foot along the road within the busy hub. They
asked him who he was and what he was up to.

He explained himself unreservedly and the distress he had for his
daughter. The cops told him to move with them. He thought they were
accompanying him to find his daughter, only to end up at Kira Road
police station. He was ordered to remove his shoes and belt as they
usually do and ushered him, with a group of suspects, into the cells.
His pleas fell on deaf ears. The next morning he was paraded with
others and taken to Nakawa court where he learnt he was being charged
with idle and disorderly.

Court eventually admitted him to Luzira prison, all the while
protesting the unfortunate setup. Forget that he was the IGP's tribes
mate. When a bad cop is on the loose, anything is possible. Those guys
are unbothered!

Another citizen was walking with his she-friend from an evening out at
Slow Boat Bar and Restaurant in Kampala. They were heading home in
Kawempe and passed through the Constitutional Square. This is before
it was cordoned off. Time-check; about 10:00pm! As they ambled from
the Grand Imperial side heading towards CPS, intending to go downward
to Kampala road where their taxis park, they encountered cops who had
been on an operation in the Nakasero areas. They had apprehended petty
thieves whom they were hauling to the station. The cops suddenly
pounced on the two, adding them on the day's catch. Inside CPS is
where they ended up. The commander of the arresting cops told the
officer on duty that the two had been found inflagrante delicto,
making love in the park. A blatant fabrication! They spent the night
in the cells but managed to get freed the next day feeling very
humiliated, with no charge.

Some cases are worse, others better. The conclusion most of these
"story-tellers" make is that everybody is vulnerable in the face of
this trend of policing. That it's not enough to be innocent. One has
to watch out that they don't encounter these chaps. It's believed that
such police personnel do what they do to please their bosses for
promotion and operational allowances. They advise fellow countrymen
that such are for the most part on the prowl in the build up to
festive days and when students are reporting back to school.

One victim related: "For me there is one who kept on knocking my
elbows and shins with a baton for no crime at all saying, 'Our
children are going to school and you are here talking'". Yet he admits
that being extorted of money is not a problem. "I can tell you if they
wanted money everyday we could give them but you don't torture
somebody for his or her money. They should just ask because some of us
know they don't earn all that much."

Senior Kampala lawyer, Yunus Kasirivu of Kasirivu and Co. Advocates is
one of the readers who responded. He said he has handled so many cases
involving setups by cops and feels that police needs a comprehensive
overhaul. "Police is just bad news. You wonder where these people come
from. As if they are not Ugandans! The whole force needs to be
disbanded entirely and fresh recruitment done," he suggests.

He however points out that the IGP, General Kale Kayihura is a
"well-intentioned" who must have found in place a badly deformed
structure which has overtime fallen to the charge of job-seekers
without a care for the job and can't possibly change much other than
preside over a disbandment- and- fresh-engagement process.

This evaluation carries a theme and it is that while cops can be a
pain, not all of them are horrific and this must be made clear. In
fact, this is to appeal that whoever encounters a good cop out there,
give them a tip. And I am not referring to personnel who compromise
with criminals. Rather, those with a sense of humanity and purpose for
a reputable police force!

Robert Atuhairwe

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"TRY TO GROW UP!"

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