Why government needs to confront attack on freedom of movement

I never imagined that I would have a crisis of confidence in my personal safety and security. I never thought I would have to consciously try to go home early from work so that I am safe. I never dreamt that I would branch to my house and keep looking over my shoulders as I wait for my gate to be opened. It had never occurred to me that the unfinished house structure near my home would be something to worry about when I leave work late. I would pass by the boda boda men at the station near my home junction without a care and never really wondered about being safe, until recently.
I never imagined that things like taking people by force from their gate and killing them in very cruel fashion could be so casual.
When one of the latest victims of kidnap was reported (may all their souls rest in peace), I tried not to follow the story, hoping with all my heart that this lady would show up-that it was a prank. That perhaps, she had tried to make her family care for her and look for her. Finding her dead was a huge blow for me. I continue to feel for her family, like all the others before her.
We have sunk to the level of some people being kidnapped or killed at their gate. Security people would like us to believe that it is not as bad as it seems, just a few cases after all that are blown out of proportion by an irresponsible media. So we can skirt around the issue.
Yet, it is the fact that very soon, the latest victim will be just another story. More important stories will grace our front pages and that she too will quickly become history we can return to on anniversary of her transition or when suspects are paraded in court, something the family will deal with while the rest of us keep going.
That a form of fear would grip me too is perhaps the best indicator of how these kidnappings and killings of women, and in some cases men, is an issue of freedom of movement.
I have heard the good police officers challenge us citizens that we are our own security, so why do we spend so much of our money on security and related functions such as law and order?
Even then, what I get disappointed about is the response to these threats before they occur. I have seen strong statements made and promises to get those responsible.
But what about those who must live their lives in fear even when there is no reason for it? Every life matters and so we need not see many people disappear by the week before we think this is worth combing every option for. When I read that the Mbale Woman Member of Parliament, Ms Connie Nakayenze Galiwango, had received death threats, and she was reporting before Parliament recently as if all her efforts to get protection were futile, my first reaction was that I have to be careful, extra careful because if Ms Galiwango is crying, pleading and begging for protection, then we are truly in trouble.
I remembered that I read this story almost a year ago, and some thought it is women’s drama. Every time I am reminded to be security conscious as a matter of urgency, I think that something is terribly wrong. Surprisingly, it is just business as usual.
I am reminded of the Zimbabwean novelist and playwright, Tsitsi Dangarembga’s novel Nervous Conditions (talks about women being trapped. She notes: “They’ve trapped us. They’ve trapped us. But I won’t be trapped... I won’t be trapped.”
Despite the defiance, this is particularly relevant, given that the victims of these kidnaps and killings are mostly women. There are so many people seemingly trapped-trapped in the quest for things that cause them to kill. Those living in fear and having a crisis of confidence are also mostly women. These lost voices, will probably never know justice.
Yet, we cannot afford complacency when dealing with threats to personal security because it breeds a crisis of confidence in systems with bigger ripple effects for larger things. What is of critical importance, though, is to start providing answers, which may not depend on the killers still at large.
For instance, I am interested, as part of the public, in knowing some of the plausible reasons behind these incidents. Confronting this challenge and ensuring that there is security is one critical way of promoting, protecting and defending of freedom for movement, as well as our economic rights.