Calling police to order may be too little too late

It is becoming very difficult for the Inspector General of Police to defend his position. The IGP Edward Kale Kayihura was recently confirmed by Parliament to a fresh four-year term, his second reappointment.
Visitors to police headquarters in Naguru are easily impressed by the sense of calm and order. Inside the modest headquarter building, offices are neatly labelled. On one floor you get the impression you have an address mix-up as everyone has the word “human rights” in their job description.
In the field, the days of police adorning torn police uniforms are long gone. Policemen of whatever age and shapes sport spit shined jungle boots. Times have never been so flush at police. In 2018/2019, police allocation will jump to Shs574 billion up from Shs500 billion. Quietly, some of the IGP’s biggest critics are some of his biggest undercover cheerleaders. Kayihura is always reappointed with some “small noises” from the opposition many of whom benefit from his generosity and tactical help.
But this state of affairs is masking serious problems with police. First is the growing failure of police to work under civilian authority except as an antagonist. Second is the expansion of police work to include purely political work. Third is the use of police to shield criminals.
In December 2017, they sent KCCA Executive Director Jennifer Musisi some major “traffic” problems when traffic policemen were abruptly withdrawn from the street leading the city on a Friday to snarl with traffic. Ms Musisi had made the mistake of wishing that her traffic lights operate independently of hand signaling. In a famous exchange, the IGP mentioned that the likes of Musisi are enjoying the hard work and sweat of others, who had been enforcing law and order in the city. At one point Ms Musisi nearly walked out of a meeting with the IGP where voices were raised.
In October 2017, the IGP in a celebratory mood stated that he had helped Speaker Rebecca Kadaga restore order to the parliamentary chamber. The chamber, the previous month, had been besieged by police and other security organs forcing the Deputy Speaker of Parliament to tiptoe into the grounds to chair Parliament. The infamous beating of MPs in September 2017 in response to scenes inside the chamber was another major blot on the country. With Parliament it turned out after another tragic incident, a car accident, that some of the attackers belonged to the Special Forces Command and not police. In the months, June to August, 2017, metropolitan Kampala was gripped by a wave of human sacrifice targeting women living on the “edge” of society, vulnerable young women going home from work. Quite a number were massacred and after the arrest of one businessman in the Entebbe area, not much was heard from police.
The execution of AIGP Felix Kawesi, a poster boy of police excesses in the period 2013-2017 was the story of the year. Mr Kawesi’s story is yet to be fully told. He was a warrior prince dutiful to a point, who was accused one too many times of acting with impunity and above the law. The failure to bring any credible suspects to court and the later episodes of police informers, comfort women, counter-deployments left the public wondering, who is in charge of the police. The ministers of Internal Affairs prefer to busy themselves with minor issues in their docket, like NIRA, Passport Control, NGO registration, etc.
But if the latest actions by paramilitary organisation Boda Boda 2010 are anything to go by, the law and order image of police is being achieved at a cost too big. One of the government’s PR lackeys ahead of parliament’s vote to lift age limit was filmed in Lubaga and Kakumiro brandishing a hand implement, but the real power behind this group was yet another creation of police Boda 2010. Ugandans are very rank conscious, they exclaim “omunene” as if someone is tragically “overweight”, in the case of Abdallah Kitatta they named him D/IGP. Crazy people!

Mr Ssemogerere is an Attorney-at-Law and an Advocate. [email protected]