One month later, have LDUs helped reduce crime?

Questions surround the impact and operations of the Local Defence Unit (LDU) just a month since they were deployed in different parts of the country to curb urban crime.
The 6,400 strong militia have not only been accused of human rights violations, but the country is yet to see an end to the kind of crime they were deployed to limit, with reports suggesting the situation has remained the same and in some cases have become worse.
In a space of just one month, for example, two brazen shootings have happened in the suburbs of Kampala, leaving more than six people dead. In these instances, there was no LDU to stop the killers or to apprehend and pursue them in the aftermath.
On May 29, a gang of six armed men raided one of the branches of Cheap General Hardware in Nansana, Wakiso District, and shot and killed two people during the daylight robbery. The third person died later as a result of the injuries sustained. The armed thugs fled with unspecified amount of money.
Days later, on June 10, armed thugs shot dead mobile money dealer Harriet Nalwadda and her employee Moreen Nakabuubi, and robbed them of Shs6 million in Zana on Entebbe Road.
Earlier, on May 14, according to police reports, armed men robbed Mr Dennis Mwesiwa and his wife at Nateete, Church Zone, of Shs610,000 and other items before shooting dead Rachael Walugembe in the same area.
A string of other robberies and urban crimes have happened across the country, especially in the Kampala Metropolitan Area (KMA) with negligible effort by the LDUs to stop the same.
Instead the LDUs are accused of, among other things, carrying out brutal assaults, arbitrary arrests and extortion in communities where they have been deployed.
There are questions into their recruitment, especially whether the military did sufficient background checks on the recruits before training them.
Other pointers relate to mistreatment. In Kawanda, for example, some residents have complained of the armed LDUs ordering them to roll in mud after arrests, something akin to the military training the militia undergoes.
There is also the issue of the guidelines they follow during operations, including the manner of arresting suspects, and identification requirements, among others.
This newspaper has seen several complaints of people alleging extortion.
On June 16, Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze took to social media to warn LDUs “to stop beating my youth and destroying their ndagamuntu [National IDs]”.
We contacted her to expound but by press time, she was yet to respond to our request. However, her post, like others published on alleged wrongdoings of the militia attracted more testimonies accusing the force of several human rights violations.
Lawyer and activist Milly Nassolo Kikomeko says the LDU operatives have not given hope to the masses but instead instigated terror within the population. She says they have failed to get public trust given the fact that even in their presence, crime reigns supreme.
A resident of Kawempe in Kampala, Ms Nassolo says the LDUs are not living up to their purpose.
“They are using their positions for their personal interests and benefits,” she asserts.
Mr Joseph Musenze, a resident of Kawuku- Ggaba, who claims he was assaulted by the LDU personnel, who allegedly flogged him, echoes similar sentiments, insisting the LDU operatives are instead causing insecurity in some areas of Kampala.
“I woke up to go and buy medicine at a pharmacy near Bunga market at midnight and while going back home, I was grabbed by LDU personnel on Kawuku road at the junction that proceeds to Kampala University and made to walk with them until 3am when I was released,” he explains.
Since then, Mr Musenze says, he is fearful of moving at night.
Mr Edward Ssenteza, a resident of Buziga and Ggaba, accuses the LDUs of terrorising the people in the area irrespective of the fact that someone has identified himself or herself.
“They ask people to present their National ID and when they present them, they say there is nothing like ‘Bank of Uganda’ [money] on their identity cards,” Mr Ssenteza said.
He adds: “They don’t help us, they instead cause panic in our areas, they arrest whoever they feel like and they never take suspects to police but rather keep brutalising them.”

More accusations
Mr Mustapha Mwaase of Bunga Zebra, says the LDU officers keep in dark corners instead of doing their work. He says their presence can hardly be felt and no wonder allegation of them fueling crime keeps popping up.
Mr Mwaase advises government to instead empower the police, which “sometimes comes to our rescue” in case of a crime.
On May 25, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) spokesperson, Brig Richard Karemire, asked the country not to condemn the LDU personnel for, among other things, the violent arrests, arguing that they are learning on the job.
“LDUs are our reserve force, which will help us curb crime in and around Kampala Metropolitan Area. They have so far committed some mistakes but do not blame them. We are trying to inaugurate them into the field and they are getting support from the UPDF. Soon they will be able to handle people with discipline,” Gen Karemire said.
We put the allegations of arbitrary arrests, extortion and brutal arrests against the group to Lt Col Henry Obbo, the UPDF Land Forces spokesperson.
“We have not officially received any such case. It, therefore, remains a claim or malicious accusation until we officially receive a complaint that we can work on in accordance with our historical UPDF/NRA zero-tolerance policy against indiscipline,” he answered.
He explained that the LDU force is commanded by experienced UPDF officers who have continuously mentored them to match the operational and the historical disciplinary standards of the National Resistance Army (NRA)/UPDF.
He said such claims are aimed at diverting the force from its mission of ensuring peace and security in the country.
“We will continue to patriotically ensure we achieve the purpose for which the LDUs were recruited. We are dedicated to giving support to the police in the removal of the bad elements from the society without injuring the rights of the people or disrupting public routines and social–economic activities. We make sure we deal with the problem itself. We rely on intelligence to single out the problem spots that we carefully weed out,” he said.

What UPDF says about LDUs

Saturday Monitor put the allegations of arbitrary arrests, extortion and brutal arrests against the group to Lt Col Henry Obbo, the UPDF Land Forces spokesperson. This was his response:
“As a result of persistent cases of insecurity in Kampala Metropolitan Area (KMA) such as kidnaps, robberies and murders orchestrated by some evil forces who had infiltrated the society, the Commander-in-Chief ordered the recruitment of Local Defence Units (LDUs) to compliment the police in restoring sanity in the affected districts of Wakiso, Mukono and Kampala. Other than the threat on general security of person and property, the economy was also threatened.
The negative forces posed a threat to factories from where we, among other things, get foreign earnings and employment for our youth. Hence, the Commander-in-Chief took a decision that we secure these very important installations (factories) as well so that there is no disruption in the economy.
The overall operation is codenamed “Operation Tokora.” Tokora is a Bantu word that means removing undesirable element from the eye or a drink. In so doing, it necessitates exercising caution not to injure the eye itself or else the intervention loses value. Indeed, our Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) emphasise the removal of the bad elements from the society without injuring the rights of the people or disrupting public routines and social–economic activities. We make sure we deal with the problem itself. We rely on intelligence to single out the problem spots that we carefully weed out.
LDUs are well trained. They understand the dynamics of the cosmopolitan environment in which they operate and maintain a focused approach in the face of operational challenges.
This team (LDUs) has displayed commendable qualities in their one month of operation despite a few cases where very few had erred at initial time of deployment but have since been corrected through mentorship by their experienced UPDF commanders. This team is energetic, love what they are doing and understand the art and science of their profession.
In the past 30 days, they have helped in resolving petty thefts in KMA and as they get more grip of the situation, will be able to give extra support to the sister organs in totally arresting all threats in their respective areas of operation. We are already close to distinction grade in securing places like Northern Bypass and stopping vandalism of Entebbe expressway infrastructure. The challenges that we face is lack of cooperation from, especially drug addicts and drunkards that have sometimes initiated physical confrontation against the LDUs. Nevertheless, we are gradually weeding out majority of those. In 30 days, we arrested 210 drug consumers or marketers
The operation has a wide range of participants. All our security agencies are involved, including the local authority; the Local Council (LC) chairpersons and Secretaries of Defence that take their time off to patrol with us, and the local population itself.
We are aware of and condemn the negative propaganda against this operation. We commend the majority citizens who turned a deaf ear to some individuals who are using a section of the media to promulgate falsehoods about “Operation Tokora” and rather embraced the President’s security plan for KMA.
It is absurd but we must come out to say that many of such people that vehemently criticise our operations in KMA must have been the beneficiaries of the crimes; those who received proceeds from robberies and kidnaps. Others may be agents of foreign forces that aim at strangling Uganda’s rapid economic growth.
Whereas others are individuals known as habitual spoilers of good things to selfishly gain political capital even if their actions affect the common good or endanger lives. It is such people that attempt to maintain the status quo of insecurity in Kampala. They instigate noise and attempt to incite the population but to their disappointment, they have been isolated by the majority people. The wanainchi, who were the victims of these negative forces, received the LDU deployment with open arms and warmth. Without this overwhelming popular support, we would not have achieved all that has been registered in only one month of operation.
Their overall strength is about 6,400 who completed training. For security reasons, we do not disclose our strength breakdown. However, it should be noted that we have deployed them in all the respective five divisions of Kampala and the highways/urban centres of Mukono and Wakiso from which they were recruited.
The LDUs received necessary military training, as well as political. With this, they understand the dynamics of the cosmopolitan environment in which they operate and maintain a focused approach in the face of operational challenges. This team (LDUs) has displayed commendable qualities in their one month of operation despite a few cases where very few had erred at initial time of deployment. The LDU force is commanded by experienced UPDF officers and militants who have continuously mentored them (LDU) to match the operational and the historical disciplinary standards of the NRA/UPDF. This team is energetic, love what they are doing and understand the art and science of their profession.
We thank our public for that cooperation that is improving peace and security in KMA. We can only say that we are doing this for the good of all of us. Let us remain vigilant and cautious of the enemies of the people so that we weed them out right from incarnation in order for us to prosper. Such negative forces that terrorise Ugandans should remember that the history of NRA/UPDF encounter with subversive elements shows that it never pays to be the enemies of the people in Uganda.”