Residents shun Nalufenya Police Station two months after its transformation

The widely open gate to Nalufenya Police Station located in Nalufenya Village, Nalufenya Parish, Mpumudde-Kimaka Division in Jinja District, is an indication that one is welcome to this once dreaded police station, according to authorities.

However, since it was reopened in April this year by Inspector General of Police (IGP), Martins Okoth Ochola, residents continue to shun the facility, with records indicating that since its transformation from a detention centre to a police station, few cases have been reported.
Despite being within a radius of about 3 kilometres from Jinja Town and conveniently next to the Jinja Nile Bridge, Nalufenya Police Station, compared to other police stations, remains less active throughout the day.

Successive visits to the facility revealed that that no suspect was in the holding cells since most of the cases that are reported are simple crimes.
The Jinja District Police Commander (DPC), Mr Martin Mbabazi, indeed confirmed that residents have not yet fully embraced the facility which he says currently receives a paltry three cases in a week, mainly traffic offences and cases of theft of construction materials from the new Nile Bridge which is under construction.

He said: “We have not yet started receiving capital offences but are only receiving small cases like breaking traffic laws and theft.’’
Mr Mbabazi said some of the cases being reported are from Kimaka, Nalufenya ‘A’, Nalufenya ‘B’ and Amber Court Villages; adding that they have embarked on a campaign to sensitize people about Nalufenya Police Station so that they can start using it.
“We are on a house-to-house campaign to sensitize the community about Nalufenya operating as a police station and trying to clean up the image of the facility which was tarnished while still a detention center for hard-core criminals,’’ he said.

Mr Mbabazi appealed to residents to report cases including criminal and domestic related cases because the facility is now open to everyone.
Although it had become a symbol of torture of suspects while in police custody, he said it is one of the best in Uganda with amenities such as a flashing toilet and bathroom, unlike in other areas where they use buckets.
Inside the facility, he said, there is a Health Centre II where residents receive services like immunization, treatment for malaria and typhoid; including treatment of patients with minor injuries and assaulted victims among others.

Mr Hamza Abubaker Badhaga, the Nalufenya ‘A’ Village chairperson, said since it was transformed into a police station, authorities have never bothered to invite them as stakeholders to know the new officers on duty.
“I am the Village chairperson of Nalufenya but I don’t even know the in-charge of the police station or the officer in-charge of Family and Protection Unit. We are still green about what is taking place in the area,’’ he bemoaned.

He added that police must do a lot of sensitization to make people love the new police station which was previously dubbed as a torture centre.
Ms Christine Namulondo, a resident of Kimaka Village in Jinja District, said to clean up the hitherto tainted image of Nalufenya Police Station, police must do a lot of Public Relations on different media platforms.
“Up to now, people still have that fear that Nalufenya is still a torture center. Even someone with case fears to take it there while others including me have never visited it since it was transformed into a police station,’’ Ms Namulondo said.

Nalufenya was in 2014 gazzetted as a detention centre for violent and high profile suspected criminals, where special operations unit officers used to interrogate them as they awaited being charged in Court.
It however, attracted negative publicity following allegations of torture by suspects including the Kamwenge Municipality Mayor, Geoffrey Byamukama, who was arrested in connection with the murder of former police Spokesperson, AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi.
Other suspects who have ever been detained at the facility include Mr Jamil Mukulu, the former Allied Democratic Force (ADF) leader who openly accused police of torture and forcing him to eat pork which was against his Islamic faith.

The Rwenzururu king Charles Wesley Mumbere, another high-profile suspect currently facing treason and terrorism charges also asked Court to order for his transfer from the facility to Luzira prison.
Nalufenya, now gazzetted as a police station, has been in existence since 1954. It started as a police post and was elevated to a police station under Kiira region before it was made a special operations unit centre.
Mr Kasim Matovu, formerly the officer-in-charge of Kinoni Police Station, was appointed as its new boss, while his predecessor, ASP Tyson Rutambika, was transferred to Lwakhakha Police Post in Namisindwa District.

[email protected]