What happened to muchaka muchaka?

The NRM government compulsorily taught our people how to effectively defend themselves.

Almost on a daily basis, we held drills and physical exercises for everyone from LC1 to the most high to enlighten our people.

Our professional trainers included UPDF combatants and police specialists. They spent hours each week teaching the population how to handle weapons, to attack and defend themselves successfully against assailants, enemies, rapists and trespassers.

President Museveni and other gallant leaders spared no effort in enlightening Ugandans about the methods of defending themselves, other Ugandans and their motherland.

The muchaka muchaka programmes were popular. Many Ugandans, including those who may have been cynical about it at first, knew how effective and useful it was.

More importantly, wananchi were taught how to disarm errant members of our own security forces. Today, muchaka muchaka appears to have faded into oblivion.

Any Ugandan who can read newspapers will never forget the disgusting photographs shown in the Saturday Monitor of October 20 showing a DP man being brutalised by rowdy gunmen. The interesting part of the photographs illustrate that we forgot the purpose of muchaka muchaka long time ago.

The photographs showed groups of Ugandans watching the beating and torture of the man as if they were watching a wrestling match.

Not a single spectator raised a finger in defence of the victim. No one dared to ask the assailants why they were torturing an unarmed man. Worse still, no one raised an alarm.

Had some of us been there, we would have approached those assailants and asked them what the victim had done and why they were beating him when he was meekly submitting to them? Photograph three on the left of the front page reveals a thug striking the victim with a gun while the other thugs are holding him down. These torturers must have been either high on drugs or are descendants of Idi Amin’s murderous junta.

The identity of the men who tortured and kidnapped Kawooya is told again in Sunday Vision of October 21 where reporters say the gun-wielding men are from the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI).

In the same story, police deny that the men belonged to the Force. Police spokesperson Emilian Kayima said they had not arrested anyone in connection to the abduction, but police was ready to cooperate with anyone investigating the incident, even if privately.

This contrasts with the seriousness senior officers of security forces regarded the incident. Chief of Defence Forces, Gen David Muhoozi, and Inspector General of Police Martins Okoth-Ochola had already ordered the immediate arrest of the armed men involved in the brutal arrest.

In light of the above, it is understandable that ordinary Ugandans should forget everything they were taught in the muchaka muchaka campaigns.

The other day, two young ladies in my neighbourhood knocked at my gate that they wished to see me. When they arrived, one of them in her teens narrated that a robber had snatched her mobile phone in a crowd on a street in Kampala. She and her friend chased him while shouting at the top of their voices “thief, thief, thief. He has snatched my phone,” but not a single person moved to stop him or help the girls.

Another acquaintance who I told this story was not surprised. He said, “These days, robbers do not fear anyone because they know no one, not even the police will bother to challenge them or assist the victim.”

In one other incident, in the presence of many people, a robber snatched a lady’s mobile phone and did not walk away. Instead, he bargained with the victim that if she pays him Shs20,000, he will return it to her. The lady said she did not have the money.

“In that case, I will be here tomorrow, but it will cost you Shs50,000. Make sure you bring it about the same time as now,” he demanded.
Many people had stopped, saw and heard what happened. The robber was a boy of small build. He was unarmed. He could have been easily overpowered by one or two onlookers. No one did, and they simply walked away as if nothing had happened.

Prof Kanyeihamba is a retired Supreme Court judge.
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