{UAH} Has Kayihura los his balls or what?

Cops are too well conducted to be true in these days of campaigns. Something must have gone down after the Zaina Fatuna nude show.

The other day i was with a cop and a soldier, both armed, seated together somewhere. There were two other people. I asked the cop how they had managed to let Besigye through town without major incident on nomination day.

At first he was reluctant to answer then he said for him as a cop his duty is to protect all Ugandans without taking sides.

I said "that's true and good but usually we expect chaos". he insisted on being duty-bound to protect everyone.

As i was about to volunteer that may be it was because on that day they were deployed alongside military personnel, i only managed to say that may be the crowds sometimes provoke them.

It's the soldier who found his tongue and said that in his experience whenever he is deployed, civilians tend to be very orderly and respectful. That even when one is up to some mischief and he points to them, they just get away.

That he usually tells civilians that if any confronts him unbearably he can shoot and nobody will hold it against him since he is wearing the national flag on his uniform.

"It would be the country shooting-not me. I tell them if they attack me they are attacking their own country and the country is more powerful," he relayed.

After they left, one of the other men said i was right to ask the cop because, he reasoned, cops are bad news and always behind chaos and torturing Ugandans even out of political life but those living their day to day experiences. He said civilians therefore don't respect them but respect soldiers because for them are they are straight on the job and incorruptible.

"You can't give a soldier a bribe and he will not ask for it," he added.

That's where that real life sitrep ended but with a realisation that Gen Kayihura doesn't seem to be in the picture at all.

Perhaps the army has fully taken charge which is the best thing to ever happen to this election season as politicians will now have to up their reasoning and argument capacity rather than "tying" themselves on brutality by security forces yet we know they often ask for it.

Robert Atuhairwe