What awaits new IGP Ochola in police force

New Inspector General of Police (IGP) Martin Okoth Ochola takes over a police force that has been largely adjudged to have failed to deliver on its constitutional mandate.
Whereas he has been outgoing Kayihura’s deputy for years, it is widely believed that Mr Ochola did not have the opportunity to implement his vision for the police force under his overbearing former boss.
Sunday Monitor has analysed reform proposals for the police force that have been made over time and also spoke to people with suggestions to make the force better.

The reform proposals are many, with some beyond what the new leadership can do and will, therefore, require the goodwill of the appointing authority and other government institutions.
The proposals include the strengthening of the Police Authority and expanding its mandate, reintroducing the issuing of the annual crime report, restructuring the police directorates and putting safeguards to protect police property such as land from being grabbed.
We explain some of the urgent ones.

Unresolved high profile crimes
One of the first things the new leadership must embark on is instituting full police investigations into high profile crimes as a way of not only providing some answers to the families and relatives of the victims but also rebuilding public confidence in the institution.

In August last year, it emerged that Gen Kayihura had taken over more than 50 high profile cases and was leading investigations through specialised units of the force.
These include the unsolved spate of killings of women in different parts of the country such as in Wakiso District, Muslim clerics and State prosecutor Joan Kagezi.
Other areas of interest should be the attacks on residents such as in Masaka that have left a number of people dead.
In resolving these killings, the Force would move to lesser crimes such as snatching mobile phones on the streets, robberies and house break-ins that have left Ugandans in fear for their lives.

Discipline
Police has, for the past three decades, morphed into the state’s main organ of coercion and consequently featured prominently among top violators of human rights.
Many police officers engaged in criminal activities have not been held to account. To transform the police force into an effective, efficient and trusted police service, the new leadership will have to counter the rampant cases of indiscipline, including police officers at senior level, who have been caught or implicated in crime such as armed robbery and extortion.
A number of senior police officers are already on trial on related charges. There is a culture of corruption in which police has for many years been named as one of the leading government bodies.
Ugandans will be watching how the new leadership addresses this.

Weeding out militia and criminals
The new police leadership ought to disband and cease any relationship with militia and other criminal groups that have discredited the Force by interfering in police operations and investigations.
These groups, together with some rogue officers, have turned the Force’s image into that of a hostile, abusive, corrupt and ineffective force.

Many of these groups deploy people on police stations and posts, among other places where they extort money from those that seek help from the Force in the guise of helping or “connecting” them to the right people.
Some take part in police operations yet they lack the requisite training and professionalism.
Others have been at the center of violating the rights of Ugandans.
The new leadership needs to evaluate the role of Crime Preventers and other groups such as Boda Boda 2010 in the Force.

PROMINENT PEOPLE WHOSE KILLINGS ARE UNEXPLAINED
Former AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi. He and two other police officers were shot dead by unknown assailants about 100 metres from his home in Kulambiro, Nakawa Division in Kampala on March 17, 2017.

Former Senior Principal State Attorney Joan Kagezi. She was killed in March 2015, in Kiwatule, East of Kampala by unknown assailants on a motorcycle.

Maj Mohammed Kiggundu. In November 2016, gunmen shot dead Sheik Maj Mohammed Kiggundu, one of the former commanders of the rebel Allied Democratic Forces. Kiggundu was killed at Masanafu, a Kampala suburb.

Other tasks for the new IGP

Training. A review of how police officers and men have been trained and promoted in the last 10 years ought to be done and those who do not meet the standards should be relieved of their duties. The police should also be retrained to the highest possible standards of ethics and integrity to respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and dignity of Ugandans and other people they serve.
De-politicise police.

Police ought to serve all irrespective of their political affiliations, tribe, gender and social status. The new leadership should embark on a mission of rebuilding a Force that doesn’t serve or is seen to serve the interests of one political group over the others. The efficiency of the police should not be witnessed in brutally suppressing protests, but in ensuring the security of citizens and other people that live in the country and their property. Police should be allowed to operate as an independent body without political interference.

Crime Intelligence
One of the functions of the police is “to prevent and detect crime” yet reports and the failure of police to solve crimes suggest the criminal investigations arm of the Force is unable to deal adequately with the challenges of the day. Ugandans are waiting for answers.

Restore public confidence
When he was reappointed in May, 2017 as IGP, Gen Kayihura promised to use his new three-year tenure to focus on restoring public confidence in the Force, but at the time his contract was terminated, the confidence was at an all-time low based at least on what Ugandans said about police in social gatherings, on the streets, on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and in mainstream media such as radio, television and what they wrote in newspapers.

Welfare
While police under Gen Kayihura improved in terms of basic necessary equipment to carry out their duties, a lot still needs to be done. The Ochola leadership needs to build on the successes already registered to improve the living conditions in the police barracks, improve on the infrastructure of police stations and introduce schemes to support families of police officers who die in the line of duty and even those who are still serving with a view of translating this into better police performance.

Major crimes in Kayihura era
The analysis of Gen Kale Kayihura’s 12-year reign as Inspector General of Police cannot be complete without looking at a number of high profile crimes committed during his time, a huge majority of which remain unresolved.
We look back at some of the most memorable incidents.

Mysterious fires
Between April 7, 2008 and March 11, 2009, there were 95 school fires. Perhaps the most memorable happened at Buddo Junior School, in which 20 girls perished.
Some of the other schools affected by fires were St Savio Junior P/S Kisubi, Grace Day PS Kampala, Trinity High School Lugoba, Nsamo mixed PS, Matengeto Parents Rakai, Moroto High School Mukono, New Grace nursery PS Iganga and Kibibi Model PS Mpigi.
The fires also visited make-shift markets, with the former Nakivubo Park Yard market, which has since been replaced by concrete, the most affected.

Murders
In 2009, 66 people were killed in Masaka District by suspected rebels, 13 of these murders occurred in Kyanamukaka Sub-county. In Kyanamukaka still, up to 35 people were killed by Fred Mujulizi, a serial contract killer. It was the murder of Pastor Stephen Mugambe and his family that brought this killer to light. Mujulizi was arrested by the police, but escaped from custody. He is still on the run.
The other memorable murders were of businessman Wilberforce Wamala in 2012. Hussein Ssali, the witness to Wamala’s murder, was later killed at Bukasa police post in September 2013.
On March 30, 2015, Senior Principal State Attorney, Joan Kagezi was gunned down in Kiwatule a Kampala suburb by unknown assailants.
There then came a string of murders of Muslim clerics, with the most recent being of Sheikh Maj Mohammed Kiggundu in November 2016. The other sheikhs killed are Abubaker Kiweewa in June 2012, Abdul Karim Sentamu on April 20, 2012, Abdul Kadir Muwaya on December 25, 2014, Mustafa Bahiga on December 28, 2014, Abdulrashid Wafula on May 21, 2015 and Ibrahim Hassan Kirya on June 30, 2015
In March last year, former police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi was killed in cold blood.
The most recent wave involved killings of women in different areas of Wakiso District, with at least 27 deaths registered, none of which has been conclusively resolved.

Kidnappings
The country has witnessed a wave of kidnappings following the killing of Susan Magara two weeks ago.
There have been tens of kidnappings in recent months, and some of them have been carried out by policemen.
On December 20, 2017, for instance, three police officers kidnapped Dr Kenneth Majoku, a dentist at Mulago hospital and robbed him of Shs5.4m.
On September 18, 2017, Police Flying Squad Unit rescued Mr Gerald Yashaba, who had been kidnapped by men led by SP Gerald Edyegu.

Bombings
On July 11, 2010, suicide bombers killed 74 people and injured 71 in a twin bombing at Rugby Club in Lugogo and Ethiopian Village restaurant in Kabalagala while watching the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final.

By Tom Malaba