Dismantle all armed criminal groups

Last Friday, gunshots rang out in the Kampala suburb of Nateete and surrounding areas as armed forces carried out arrests of persons associated with the Boda Boda 2010 group. Details have since emerged of the activities of this rogue outfit, operating outside the boundaries of the law, to threaten, extort, make arrests and even sabotage government programmes, with impunity.

The arrest of Abdullah Kitatta and allies on suspicion of committing serious crimes is merely the lifting of a lid off a pot of trouble that the group has been stirring over the past few years. Sadly, as has been reported in the media, many of the illegalities were committed with the knowledge and backing of some senior figures in the law enforcement agencies.

The arrest of the group leadership has caused a lot of excitement among members of the general public and rightly so, as many city-dwelling boda boda operators seem to have fallen foul of or clashed with Boda Boda 2010 operatives in recent times.

As such, there is relief that, for a while at least, the nightmare is off the streets. A section of the public can now breathe a little easier, knowing that they will not be arbitrarily arrested and money extorted from them by people whom the law has had difficulty apprehending in the past.

However, the biggest question remains, how did we get here? That we have an armed and irregularly recruited band of untouchable individuals, who can threaten the peace and attack anyone at will, is what we should all be debating.

What does it say about our law enforcement agencies; that they needed to lean on the dubious skills and energies of men operating outside the law, supposedly to maintain law and order?
Boda Boda 2010 is just an episode in a long series of mismanagement of crime prevention in the country in recent times. This group, though more influential and organised than others, is by no means the only one accused of illegal action.

There have been groups that beat people with sticks on the city streets in broad daylight and others, who overran courts and rearrested suspects, who had been released on bail by legally constituted courts.

All these had or seemed to have the protection of the police and worked closely with officers in uniform.
In light of the above, many questions linger about the state of law and order in the country and whether the incarceration and possible prosecution of Boda Boda 2010 leadership in this case, is enough to dismantle the intricate network of criminals that may have been built in the name of fighting crime.

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