What led to degeneration of capacity to investigate crime?

It was a Friday afternoon, the time for the Nakiwogo-Lutoboka three and a half hour routine. One of the biggest surprises of my time has been Ugandans embracing Kalangala District as an affordable get-away for families, youth groups for a weekend of fresh air and a decongested environment. There are always new faces to behold as the natives like myself are hopelessly outnumbered on the MV Kalangala.

This particular Friday we shared a seat with a professional colleague a Prosecutor. I had been observing a trial he was prosecuting and that particular day was judgment day. But he had taken the trip for a well deserved break. I engaged him about why many of these profound crime mysteries failed to take off in court or were simply lost when they came to trial.

Joan Kagezi’s prosecution was a leading example because at the time of her murder, the State promised that no stone would be left unturned in the quest of justice. Kagezi’s murder at the onset of the trial of a number of rebel suspects shocked the country. That case itself has limped on since 2015, and may limp again if the second set of Judges who are hearing the case, Justice Elizabeth Nahamya and Ezekiel Muhanguzi retire soon after attaining the mandatory age of 65 years. The first judge Alphonse Owiny Dollo was in the same year promoted to the Court of Appeal.

The prosecutor laid it bare in very simple terms, the role of the prosecutors is to receive evidence from police, evaluate it and make a decision to prosecute. Police even while mismanaging cases has jealously guarded its role in investigation of crime. He described a few instances where cases of such gravity like murder arrive in thin folders with missing statements, lost or stolen exhibits and interferences. The best investigators are often non-commissioned officers who are “subject” to orders from above.

The scourge of repeat offenders who are eventually befriended by police to become informers or enforcers in the field has led focus away from primary evidence gathering yet police has most of the primary tools; conducting forensics, ballistics experts, handwriting experts and a still respectable lab for processing crime scenes. One thing that stood out in the Kaweesi murder investigation was failing to bring sniffer dogs to sniff a trail full of blood ignoring the fact that for each round that shot the deceased persons traces of the same blood could be traced on the rifle especially since the shooting was at such close range.

Police misconduct presents unique challenges and has led to a number of reforms in other countries. Of course the most basic one, firing everyone rarely produces results. In Kenya, the corruption in the police force is still a problem even where cops are arrested and “publicly shamed”. There was a case of a police officer in Mombasa who was “processing” millions of shillings in mobile money transactions a day. However in more brutal cases involving loss of human life, public oversight over police has been established through elected officials.

In England, police commissioners are elected to oversee the police, a change that came after a number of unsolved crimes.

Victims of crime are often forgotten and left to suffer intimidation or exposed to material inducements to forget cases without legal protection. The current facilities at the disposal of the DPP and the Family Protection officers in Police cannot match the need of these families that stretch for years. Where considerable wealth is involved, soon the same families are up in daggers against themselves and powerful individuals who may include people in security over possession of land. The scenes get ugly at the time of probate as pent up feelings come to the surface.

It is important to understand that where Police has really lost, it has lost the trust issue. Without trust, detecting and preventing crime is a major challenge.

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