{UAH} Charged junior cops pin bosses on police brutality
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Charged junior cops pin bosses on police brutality
Two senior police officers were yesterday accused of complicity in planning and supervising the police flogging of by-standers and supporters of Dr Kizza Besigye in July.
On July 12 and July 13 in Kampala and Najjanankumbi, Besigye's supporters were attacked by cane-wielding policemen as they escorted the opposition leader after he had been freed from prison on bail.
Appearing before the police disciplinary court, Constable Robert Wangala said James Ruhweza, the head of operations for Kampala Metropolitan area, supervised the distribution of the canes used to beat civilians. He said the sticks, bought before the February 2016 elections, were picked from stores at the Central police station in Kampala.
"On 12th July our commander James Ruhweza called us in the morning for a briefing which we all attended. After the briefing, he ordered us to sign for the sticks from the store of anti-riot police and to bring them back after work," Wangala disclosed.
He added that there were five police patrol pickup trucks involved in the operation and each commander signed for at least 100 sticks.
"After signing for the sticks, Ruhweza ordered us to jump on his patrol [car] and we headed to the High court and later Kalerwe [where the brutality took place]," he said.
When they reached Kalerwe, he said, they found Besigye supporters lined up along the road. Ruhweza, he said, ordered them to disperse the people using sticks. Another officer, Moses Nanoka, the former divisional police commander at Wandegeya police station, pinned Jonathan Baroza, the personal assistant to the Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura, for defying the proposal to use an alternative route.
"I told Baroza and Ruhweza to use the route of Acacia avenue, Ntinda, Kyanja, then we get out from Gayaza road and head to Kasangati which was safer," Nanoka said.
He said Baroza opposed this and instead said Besigye must use Mulago, Kkubiri, Kalerwe then Kasangati. Nanoka also said that he should not be held responsible for the mistakes made because he was not the overall commander of the operation.
"Mr Chairman, we used five patrols from High court to Kasangati and the overall commanders were Baroza and Ruhweza who issued orders and, therefore, they should be brought here to explain," Nanoka said.
Nanoka further said that part of the convoy of police vehicles was commanded by Baroza, Geoffrey Kahebwa, deputy regional police commander, Kampala South, and the military police.
He said he was not in control of the operation since each vehicle had a commander who was superior to him.
"The police officers in the video clip which was shown were commanded by Ruhweza who was the overall commander; so, I am not responsible for the vehicles," he said.
To prove his innocence, Nanoka said no video clip captured him issuing orders to beat people. Nanoka said he first saw the images of the beatings in the media.
"If I had seen officers beating [people], I would have stopped them but because we had many vehicles with different commanders, maybe officers who beat people were on other vehicles," he said.
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