KCCA plans law to regulate enforcement operations

KAMPALA. Following endless mayhem allegedly orchestrated by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) law enforcement officers against vendors, a law is in the pipeline to regulate their operations.
The development comes on the heels of a heated controversy surrounding the recruitment and deployment of the law enforcers.
Mr Samuel Serunkuuma, the KCCA acting executive director, submitted the proposed law to the council on Wednesday arguing that if passed, it will help to clean the KCCA image.
“We strongly believe that if an ordinance to regulate this enforcement team is made, it will help us get well trained personnel to enforce the law in the city. We now wait for council’s approval of this proposal,” he said.
The proposed law, among other things, seeks to legitimise the KCCA law enforcement team. The pertinent clauses in the proposed law are: qualifications, recruitment, training, deployment and operations of the law enforcers.
This means that the entire team which is currently working is likely to be overhauled to pave way for a more professional one that will help in enforcing sanity in Kampala City.
Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago demanded the entire law enforcement team be disbanded for their brutal arrests in the city.
This follows the death of Olivia Basemera, a street vendor, who died after plunging into Nakivubo channel as she attempted to run away from KCCA law enforcement officers.
When council tasked Mr Serunkuuma to explain who pays some of the police officers who have since joined the enforcement team, he said they are all paid by KCCA.
Councillors also tasked the KCCA technical team to produce the academic qualifications of all law enforcement officers.
Ms Jennifer Musisi, KCCA executive director, however, in her August 11 letter to Kampala minister, Ms Beti Olive Kamya, accused politicians of frustrating operations of law enforcement team.
“Politicians at different levels have been influential both in inciting the community to rise against and oppose enforcement operations in their divisions. Their actions have resulted into attacks by vendors and members of the public leading to physical injuries, including assaults, insults and loss of lives,” she wrote.
According to KCCA statistics, there are currently 333 law enforcement officers in Kampala.
These are deployed at City Hall and in the central business district, including city divisions.