Kidnappings: Why government should prioritise internal security

On April 8, the police supposedly made a payment of half a million US dollars to the kidnappers to buy freedom for the American tourist and her tour guide. The American tourist, Ms Sue Kimberly had visited Uganda to achieve her dream of seeing gorillas in their natural realm when the kidnappers abducted her, together with Mr Jean Paul Mirenge.

Thankfully, the bandit gave both of them back and in good health. The kidnap-for-ransom is old news to Ugandans. In the past three years, kidnappers have and are still abducting the most vulnerable groups of people in society, especially children and women for a pay-off. The kidnappers usually target their victims based on their vulnerability, wealthy and social status.

Their target included a Western foreigner because they held her in high profile and expected to charge a high ransom for her freedom.
The kidnapped are usually subjected to emotional distress, at least injured, and at worst, killed. Has the government failed to eliminate this kidnapping scourge? What impact does kidnapping have on the ordinary man? Is kidnapping a threat to national security?

National security signifies specific public policies that the government makes and implements to protect the lives and well-being of its citizens from any substantial threats. It is from national security that we derive personal security, which is a human right. Yet persistent abductions in the country have denied the masses this right. Remarkably, the government’s policies to promote national security have involved allocating the security sector a relatively higher budget share than other sectors of the economy, including public sector management, accountability, justice, law, and order. According to the Ministry of Finance, this budget share has increased over time from Shs1.65 trillion in the Financial Year 2015/2016 to Shs2.13 trillion in the 2018/2019. Has national security increased with increases in government expenditure on the same?

Amid the rising government expenditure on security, the March 2019 Uganda Country report by IHS Markit, a UK-based global information provider, assesses that the quality of local security services in Uganda is gradually weakening. Why is this so despite the increasing expenditure on security? The Finance ministry says over the past four financial years (2015/2016-2018/2019), the government has prioritised spending the security budgetary monies on top of three sub-programmes. These include the UPDF Land Forces, military-equipment and UPDF-peacekeeping mission in Somalia. But internal security features have not been given top priority in the 2015/2016-2018/2019 financial years.

It is great that the Ugandan government can espouse peace in Somalia. However, it should do so without compromising its major role in advancing internal security. Internal insecurity is detrimental in all economic aspects. For instance, persistent kidnaps have the potential of discouraging holiday makers from taking on future tourism opportunities in the country. Besides, Kidnappers target groups that have the ability to pay the demanded ransom.

Since investors lie in this category, internal insecurity characterised by rampant kidnappings may discourage foreign investors from investing in the country. Additionally, Kidnappers usually demand a high payment for high profile people. In case these are a responsibility of the government, the government may spend taxpayers’ monies in paying the very high ransoms. This affects the country in three ways.

First, paying ransoms leads to misallocation of revenue from its planned developmental use. Secondly, it provides kidnappers with quick incomes. Thirdly, paying ransoms makes the kidnapping business attractive thus attracting more potential bandits, and this weakens national security.
There is urgent need for the government to address the continued kidnaps of the Ugandan children, women and men with importance and urgency. How?
The policymakers should commit to make internal national security a top priority in the security budget allotments.

Ms Ahairwe is an MA Economics graduate.

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