Worried about kidnaps and assault, women need reassurance, not arrest
After the ‘teacher me, teacher me’ publicity antics of his predecessor, Inspector General of Police Martins Okoth-Ochola has, by his mere rectitude, been a fresh breath of air. He has gone about his work calmly and quietly – attributes he much needs for his job of cutting out from the Uganda Police Force the cancerous tumours of criminality, impunity and partisanship.
Turning 60 this year, Mr Ochola has gone about his business in the hurry-slowly manner of a man who knows both that there are a lot of wounds to heal, and that he has a lot more years behind him than ahead of him.
Yet while we must give the new IGP and his deputy, the well-connected Brig Steven Sabiiti Muzeyi, support and the benefit of the doubt, we must not hesitate to give the same unsolicited counsel we offered the last holder of that office – even if it were, then and now, to be promptly ignored.
Events this week are a good place to pause, coming roughly 100 days into the new leadership’s tenure. We speak specifically by the attempt by several women (and a few men) to seek audience with the IGP over the widespread kidnaps that have particularly targeted women and children.
The IGP was well within his rights to defer the meeting to a more appropriate date – he is a busy man – but deploying anti-riot police to prevent the protestors access to Police HQ was visually and tactically the wrong move.
It is one thing to hog the limelight and parade suspects for every crime, even if they are recycled thugs being fed out to fill the emotional need that citizens have that something is being done. We’ve been there, seen that. It is, however, another thing to refuse to meet with angry, scared and frustrated women or ask to meet with them at one’s convenience, rather than theirs; crime rarely happens on schedule or appointment – unless one considers the white-collar variety that follows the quarterly release of funds to government ministries and departments.
The IGP could have met the women, however briefly, offered them a cup of tea, listened to them, then promised a longer meeting after reviewing their concerns. He could also have delegated a senior officer to do exactly the same. By arresting six of the protestors, the IGP shot himself in the foot and missed an opportunity to show that he cares. I must confess that while the kidnaps stories have been all over the place, your columnist had not paid nearly enough attention to them and their impact until speaking to a few young people recently.
Parents of young children across the country have their hearts in their mouths every time they step out of their front doors, worrying about the new housekeeper and if she and junior will be around when they return from work, or whether they will find a crudely written ransom note.
Young women are retiring home earlier or photographing the license plates of their motorcycle taxis when out on social evenings, in case they are disappeared. Demand for pepper spray has shot through the roof. It isn’t funny.
The protestors at Police HQ this week might have been foul-mouthed, but deep down what they really were is scared. Scared every time a passing car slows down next to them. Scared every time they hear a noise outside in the night. (Just in case it isn’t already clear, this is not the time to creep up behind a young woman, put your hands over her eyes and cheerily ask her to ‘guess who?’) What they needed was a hug and assurances that all will be well, not a wall of shields and batons. But assurances alone are not enough. The new police leadership has signalled positive intent by closing down the notorious Nalufenya torture centre and disbanding the thuggish Flying Squad. There are at least two more things they can do to make us all feel safer.
First, they should call for or allow a public inquiry into the conduct of notorious police units and officers in order to gather evidence necessary to prosecute or weed thugs out of the Uganda Police Force. There are still many more thugs lurking in uniform, mama; they are heeeeeeya! and all we need is a sign to out them.
Second, the IGP should put more boots on the ground and bring back regular police patrols, especially in residential suburbs. This would be both a deterrent to crime and reassuring to residents. Obviously, the order of things – getting the thugs out of uniform and into jail first – matters; deploying thugs in police uniform to patrol residential neighourhoods is like putting mosquitoes in charge of a blood bank. The IGP can throw a safety net around it all.
Mr Kalinaki is a journalist and a poor man’s
freedom fighter. [email protected]
Twitter: @Kalinaki.
