IGP Ochola disbands Flying Squad Unit

KAMPALA. Inspector General of Police, Martins Okoth Ochola, has disbanded violent police crack unit, the Flying Squad Unit (FSU).
FSU commanded by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Herbert Muhangi, has been known for hunting down suspects in high profile cases.

In his message to all directors and unit heads, IGP Ochola replaced the elite squad with a new unit dubbed Organised Crime Department (OCD) which he has placed under the command of former Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Mark Odong.
In his second week as IGP, Mr Ochola reverted 19 specialised units that directly reported to former IGP Gen Kale Kayihura, to the directorate of Criminal Investigations headed by AIGP Grace Akullo.

In the message, ACP Muhangi was appointed to Human Resource Management headed by AIGP Moses Balimwoyo as head of Manpower and Audit department.
Although FSU has been managing to curb some crimes, gun violence, kidnap, armed robberies and murder crimes have been persistent.

This comes just weeks after

Disband Police Flying Squad, activists tell Ochola

The activists demanded that the new IGP disbands the notorious crime preventers, the Police Flying Squad and bring back the special investigations department to deal with the rising crime

and bring back the special investigations department to deal with the rising crime.

READ:

Disband Police Flying Squad, activists tell Ochola

The activists demanded that the new IGP disbands the notorious crime preventers, the Police Flying Squad and bring back the special investigations department to deal with the rising crime

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Mr Livingstone Sewanyana, the executive director of Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, in March this year said it was high time the new IGP acted and started by disbanding the notorious criminal gangs who have been operating alongside the police.

“For a start, he needs to deal with the question of crime preventers. I don’t think we need crime preventers. He needs to sort out the question of militias that have infiltrated the police. He needs to address that and have them disbanded. He must also disband these so called flying squads that have become torture squads,” Mr Sewanyana said on March 6.

Some of the cases involving FSU

• Police arrest brothers over kidnapping 4-year-old girl

  

  Mr Muhangi said the girl was kidnapped by a boda-boda rider who hid her at his brother's home in Butumi village, Kiyuni Sub County in Mubende District

• How cars, boda bodas are stolen

  Others are intentional or staged bumps into one’s vehicle, the use of duplicated number plates and window smashing

• Police arrest suspects over Magara murder

  

  A source said other suspects were picked following leads in the information volunteered to police by the public after the murder

• Police officer arrested over robbery, hangs self

  

  The officer was arrested after robbery suspects said they had been working with him to steal motorcycles and vehicles