IGG to investigate police promotions

Kampala- Inspector General of Government (IGG) Irene Mulyagonja yesterday indicated that her office will review several complaints against the recent police promotions following a petition to her office.

The petition, lodged early this week, follows the recent promotion of 496 police officers by President Museveni.

The promotions left several officers who missed out disgruntled.

The petitioners want the IGG to launch an inquiry into the “sham exercise and also reprimand officers in the Police Directorate of Human Resources who are responsible for editing the list of who is promoted and who is not,” which they said is tantamount to corruption and abuse of office.

The petition, a copy of which Daily Monitor has accessed, particularly questions the promotion of seven police officers, including Susan Kasingye, Zurah Ganyana and Jonathan Baroza.

The latter is Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kale Kayihura’s assistant.

According to the dossier, Ms Kasingye, who was promoted to the rank of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), has been in the Force for only four years and was made to skip the rank of Superintendent of Police, an action that calls for an explanation.

In another case, Mr Nickson Agasirwe, who joined the police as a Special Police Constable and police informer in Mbarara District in 2002, and has never undergone the mandatory nine-month police training, was in the latest promotions elevated to the rank of Senior Superintendent of Police, also skipping one rank.

IGP Kayihura’s assistant Baroza was made to skip two ranks and was promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police – another promotion that calls for an explanation.

Ms Ganyana, promoted to the rank of SSP, had reportedly not been recommended from her department [Public Relations].

She is a daughter of Police Director of Administration Moses Balimwoyo.

In another case that the petitioners say calls for explanation, Mr Aaron Baguma, the Central Police Station Commander who has been indicted by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on murder charges, was promoted to the rank of Superintendent of Police despite his current predicament.

Police last month refused to produce Mr Baguma before the Buganda Road Magistrates Court to be charged with murder but the DPP, Mr Mike Chibita, told this newspaper last week that the beleaguered police commander will be charged with murder because “he is not above the law”.

The dossier also indicates that Mr Enock Abaine and Mr Dennis Namuwoza were both promoted to the rank of ACP, four months after they had received a previous promotion, unannounced through the police radio messaging service.

Demoralisation
“… in what has shocked everybody, SP Matte (who is DPC Kasese) was made to jump two ranks and is even higher in rank than his regional police commander,” the dossier to the IGG reads. Mr Matte, who is now an assistant commissioner of police, is higher in rank than Rwenzori East Region police commander Ben Kagarura, who is at the rank of SSP.

“It is no longer useful to be hard working and to be recommended by your directorate, what is important is to have a godfather at police headquarters,” the dossier adds.

The IGG yesterday confirmed that her office had received the petition. “We will discuss it, and determine whether or not to move forward with the investigations,” Ms Mulyagonja told this newspaper.

Efforts to speak to Police chief Kale Kayihura were futile as he was not answering their calls by press time.

Police spokesperson Fred Enanga, however, said there was nothing wrong with the promotions.

“The exercise of promotions is a transparent and fair process because it is guided by policy. There are written guidelines and the criteria is clear and based on merit,” he said.

However, during the decoration ceremony of the newly promoted officers last Friday, Gen Kayihura admitted he had received complaints after several police officers shunned the ceremony, saying the promotions were a sham based on bribery, tribalism and favouritism.

Gen Kayihura, however, distanced himself from any culpability, saying the promotions committee is headed by his deputy, Mr Martins Okoth-Ochola, whom he tasked to investigate the claims of tribalism and recommend officers who were unfairly left out.
“Let us solve this problem,” Gen Kayihura ordered his deputy and the police human resource development officers.

In the latest dossier to the IGG, it is indicated that all officers recommended for promotion to the Directorate of Administration and Human Resource, as per police procedure, were left out.

Ignored recommendations
According to the dossier, the Traffic Directorate had recommended more than 20 officers, the Forensics Directorate had recommended more than 10 officers, and Criminal Investigations Directorate more than 10 officers but only one officer was promoted.

The directorate of Interpol had also recommended 10 officers for promotion but none was promoted while all names recommended from the Band department were also sidestepped.

Apparently, the former Internal Affairs minister, the late Aronda Nyakayirima, had forbidden the moving up of officers more than two ranks on grounds that if they fail to perform in their new assignments, they cannot be demoted.

Daily Monitor understands that it had also been agreed that officers, who were promoted last year during police centenary celebrations, would not get promoted this time around, to give chance to others in acting capacities, given their level of experience of professional career growth, to go up the ladder. The recent promotions, however, did otherwise.

Other promotions under query
Other promotions that have caused jitters include that of Lt Col Ndahura Atwooki Birakurataki, who was promoted to Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP).

For one to be an AIGP, he or she must be head of a given directorate. Although Col Ndahura heads of the Directorate of Crime Intelligence, he is a serving military officer and his recent appointment is equivalent to a Major General in the army.

The other cases are those of Mr Charles Asaba and Mr Fortunate Habyara. Mr Asaba was promoted to the rank of Senior Commissioner of Police (SCP) yet for one to be at that rank, they are supposed to be in the position of a deputy director.

Mr Asaba does not hold any such portfolio. Mr Habyara was promoted to the rank of commissioner, skipping two ranks and is now two ranks higher than his boss in the Professional Standards Unit (PSU).

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