Kyaligonza humiliated me – Sgt Esther Namaganda

For policewoman Sergeant Esther Namaganda, Saturday, February 23, started like any other day since she was moved to the police’s traffic department in 2012. It would be a day of standing in the sweltering heat directing vehicles on the road; stopping some, arguing with drivers and bodaboda cyclists, and sometimes coming down hard on those who break traffic laws by issuing out express penalty tickets or arresting and detaining them at the police station.

So she expected nothing out of the ordinary. That morning, she had been deployed at the busy Seeta junction on the Kampala-Jinja Highway. Taking in dust and car fumes, she went about her routine as she had the day before. But that would be until 11am, when an incident she least expected flung her into the path of a big car, a big man and ultimately into the spotlight.
She was manhandled by two burly soldiers, allegedly slapped by a Luweero Bush War General in a contest about the right of way – or right out of my way – that has become all too common on Uganda’s roads. A video of the incident would go viral, condemnation and praise would flood social media and public discussion – formal and informal.

Days later, with the storm still in the air, I traced Sergeant Namaganda at her humble place of abode in Nakapinyi village near Mbalala Trading Centre, Mukono District. She had waited for me at an agreed spot at Mbalala. When I met her, she looked distressed, although the incident had happened a few days earlier. She entreated that she first buys herself a copy of a newspaper, to see how the incident has been covered, before proceeding to her home.

The dark skinned and relatively short, 55-year-old Sergeant Namaganda, clad in a green floral kitengi dress, had covered her head with a lilac woolen beanie. As we moved towards the supermarket from where we would take bodabodas to her home, she kept muttering to herself; wondering how a grown-up and respectable military officer at the rank of Major General, could conduct himself in such a horrific manner.

On our way, she received a phone call that seemed private and important that she even got off the bodaboda and walked to a more convenient place she could speak out of earshot. I, however, proceeded to her home where I waited for about 45 minutes. We, however, could not immediately start on the interview given the numerous calls that followed, one of which was inviting her to CIID headquarters. Anyway, soon we got talking, sitting on a bench under a tree at the extreme side of her compound.

How did it all start?
“I was on duty with my other two colleagues controlling traffic at Seeta Trading Centre (junction) as usual. But around 11am, a vehicle right next to her [coming from Kampala] was indicating with an intention to turn off (make a U-turn) and drive back towards Kampala,” she recalls. Because the vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado had a foreign number plate, Namaganda says she assumed the driver probably did not know that kind of turn was not allowed.

She told the driver to instead drive ahead and make a proper turn off at the Kobil Fuel Station – only a few metres away – and proceed with their journey other than making a U-turn which is against the traffic laws. According to her, the driver hesitated but she continued with her work, monitoring traffic flow and waving off motorists on the other lane from Jinja. The foreign registered vehicle had now stopped, blocking traffic behind it.

Did she even take time to know who the people in the vehicle were? No, she innocently thought they were one of the numerous road users that needed guidance as it is stated in her line of work.

“I didn’t even know who they were but all of a sudden, I saw somebody lowering the glasses. It was a military officer. I told the driver again to drive ahead and turn into the fuel station then go his way, but he resisted and shortly, the army man jumped out of the car and grabbed me by the collar,” the Sergeant recalls.
“I was frightened and confused,” she adds. The confusion doubled as another soldier also came out of the car and grabbed her left hand.

Namaganda became totally confused and helpless. She could not fight or escape! She continued asking these army men, who maintained a tight grip on her. None of them said a word, so she did not know what she had done to deserve such a handling.
“I got too confused, I thought I was going to be kidnapped because these guys did not say any single word to me,” she recounts.

In the heat of the moment
As any scuffle in public would draw people with concern, the incident attracted crowds and according to Namaganda, as she continued to try and rescue herself from soldiers who held their rifles in the other hand. People started gathering, motorists stopped to see what was taking place and the traffic had at this time come to a standstill. Onlookers were also confused and concerned; they kept asking what the officer had done wrong.

In the commotion, she recalls seeing another bigger bodied, tall and mature man dressed in civilian clothes jumping out of the same car holding something in his hands which she can’t tell what it was exactly.

“This man [it turns out was Maj Gen Matayo Kyaligonza] moved out of the vehicle with a metallic object. I can’t tell whether it was a sword or what, but he placed it back in the car and moved towards me while the other two soldiers were still holding me,” she reveals.

She added: “He rudely asked me why I was blocking the traffic but I requested him to tell his driver to do what I had told him earlier then continue with his way.” In response, “I got a very hard slap on my left cheek that I felt right in the eardrum! I asked why I was being beaten, the man added me another one that covered my left eye.”

Now helpless, Namaganda told Gen Kyaligonza to slap her as many times as he could since it was all in his hands.
“Shamelessly, this man wanted to slap me again but I think due to the crowd that had gathered, I don’t know, I think he changed his mind but then grabbed the lanyard of my uniform and the button of the flap got off. He again pulled the pin on the left pocket thereby pressing my left breast causing unbearable pain. I shouted, telling them to stop and that they were killing me!”

Meanwhile she was still being held by the armed bodyguards. At this point her uniform was already torn and Gen Kyaligonza was holding the lanyard. She boldly asked where he was taking it, he threw it down and went back in his car though he left the door open.

Confrontation
Namaganda’s story does not highlight any of her colleagues though one of them managed to capture the short video that brought the incident on social media. They were around but voiceless. The soldiers were menacingly brandishing AK-47 rifles, according to Namaganda. However, one courageous onlooker who Namaganda would later identify as Peter Otai, a journalist working for UBC television, came out of the crowd and confronted the men.

“I heard him asking these men why they were manhandling a female officer on duty yet she was telling them the right thing to do. Gen. Kyaligonza, asked him; ‘who are you in this government to even say a word?’ The gentleman responded that, ‘I may not be anyone in the government but I am a Ugandan,’” she recounts.

The General said he would beat him up for poking his nose in things that didn’t concern him. This appeared to be a signal to his guards to act.

“His bodyguard called Okurut left me, went and kicked as well as slapped Otai. Thank God, Otai blocked the second kick but his elbow got injured,” Namaganda narrates.

Letting her go
As the soldier beat up Otai, she continued to struggle with the other soldier who was holding her. Her colleagues now attempted to come to her rescue.

“One of my colleagues came pleading with this soldier to let me go. He told him humbly ‘leave mama; that’s enough, leave mama’. That’s when he left me,” she recalls.

The soldiers cocked their guns and due to fear of getting harmed, the people that had gathered started moving away and motorists drove off, allowing the group to accomplish their “mission” as Maj Gen Kyaligonza’s driver made a complete U-turn with the boss in his seat and drove back towards Kampala. The two guards walked along for a while, then boarded the vehicle before it sped off, to everyone’s relief.

She says this incident is the worst experience she has ever had since she joined the police force more than 30 years ago.

Who she is...
Sgt Namaganda is a wife and a mother. She has been married to Alphonse Musoni for 30 years. Together, they have five children.

She joined police in 1988 at the age of 20. She had just completed ger Senior Four (O-Level). Her elder brother, a defence secretary at the village council in Bugiri District was her inspiration.

“My brother who was then the defence secretary encouraged me to join the police given the fact that it was the time they were recruiting people to join the forces. I was still a vibrant young girl, there by taking on the chance in 1988 to date,” she happily narrates.

Namaganda started as a constable after the police training and has grown to the current rank of Sergeant. From general duties, she was deployed in the traffic department in 2012.

Apart from the recent incident, Namaganda can hardly point out a challenge that she has encountered during her time of service. She says her good character has helped her overcome many bad times that would have ruined her life as a police officer.

The one achievement Namaganda is proud of since she joined the forces is that she has been able to take care of herself and sustain her family with the help of her husband.

“I am happy, at least two of my children have completed university, and there is one who is completing this year, the other two are still in secondary school, I give glory to God for that achievement,” she jubilates.