By GAAKI KIGAMBO
In Summary
- 2001: Justice Julia Sebutinde recommended an overhaul of the police following a wide ranging inquiry into corruption, mismanagement and abuse of office in the force. Her recommendations were only partially implemented.
- President Museveni and a number of senior security personnel have partly blamed the death of Kaweesi, on the relapse of the intelligence capabilities of the police and the Internal Security Organisation (ISO).
- A number of former police officers say police have struggled to gather sufficient intelligence to stay ahead of especially serious crime ever since the Special Branch was disbanded in August 2007
- On March 22, Assistant Inspector General of Police Asuman Mugenyi said plans were already afoot to screen the entire police force but he could not say when or how this screening was going to be done.
The quest by the Inspector General of Police Gen
Kale Kayihura to have his tenure renewed for the fifth time in November
faces a test after President Yoweri Museveni‘s utterances last week
betrayed a crisis of confidence in his leadership.
The president charged the force had been
infiltrated by criminals, and ordered Mr Kayihura to clean up, a task
multiple analysts say is not simple to execute, as it requires a major
shakeup of the police ranks.
In 2001, Justice Julia Sebutinde recommended an
overhaul of the police following a wide ranging inquiry into corruption,
mismanagement and abuse of office in the force. A report the inquiry
implicated senior officers for running criminal gangs.
But her recommendations were only partially implemented.
But her recommendations were only partially implemented.
While the police seem aware of the need for an
overhaul, the consequences of such exercise remain unclear. On March 22,
Assistant Inspector General of Police Asuman Mugenyi said plans were
already afoot to screen the entire police force for ineffective officers
and those who may be involved in criminal activities. He, however,
could not say when or how this screening was going to be done.
“Even before the death of [Assistant Inspector
General of Police Andrew Kaweesi the IGP had ordered for this to be done
and we shall do it,” said Mr Mugenyi, police director of operations.
The demand by President Museveni for an immediate
clean-up of the police follows the brutal killing of Mr Kaweesi on March
17, in Kkulambiro village about 15Km northeast of Kampala.
President Museveni and a number of senior security
personnel have partly situated the death of Kaweesi, who was eulogised
as a steely officer, in the relapse of the intelligence capabilities of
the police and the Internal Security Organisation (ISO).
“All these murders I follow them myself. There are
always clues leading to who committed the crime but some of the
security groups are infiltrated by the criminals,” said President
Museveni.
“So you get a situation where they are
intimidating witnesses, sometimes killing witnesses. They leak
information. That is why the public fears to report to any of these
groups. Because when you tell them, before you leave someone is ringing
the one you have reported about. So, the Police have been infiltrated by
criminals. Kale you must clean the police especially the CIID,”
President Museveni added.
Intelligence gathering
A number of former police officers say police have
struggled to gather sufficient intelligence to stay ahead of especially
serious crime ever since the Special Branch was disbanded in August
2007 — less than two years after Mr Kayihura’s appointment to head the
police.
Mr Kayihura has given different reasons for
winding up the intelligence unit that had established a reputation as
the best the country has ever had.
On different occasions, he has said it was aimed to mitigate duplication of work with ISO (which was founded around 1986-87), its officers quietly supplied information to foreign governments, it was a requirement of the international police, or that police was not benefiting from it since it was directly answerable to the Minister for Internal Affairs.
On different occasions, he has said it was aimed to mitigate duplication of work with ISO (which was founded around 1986-87), its officers quietly supplied information to foreign governments, it was a requirement of the international police, or that police was not benefiting from it since it was directly answerable to the Minister for Internal Affairs.
These reasons have lent credence to claims that
the disbandment was, in fact, aimed to diminish the influence of
officers from the north and northeast regions who predominantly manned
it — two regions where President Museveni has never enjoyed much
political support. Other critics trace the discomfort with a
professional unit much deeper — shielded from political interference,
Special Branch had kept critical files on different individuals dating
years back, under new leadership at the police, the unit was likely to
continue to operate independently something that would not auger well
with the new police leadership’s desire for a complete makeover of the
force.
“The removal of the Special Branch from police was a blunder,” said Freddie David Egesa, a private investigator.
“One of the main fabrics of intelligence is how
information flows from the base people… When you look at CIID, all the
strong officers who know intelligence have been pulled out and are
seated redundant at headquarters. Go to regional CIIDs, you find young
men running these offices without adequate training and orientation from
people with experience,” Mr Egesa added.
Intelligence and surveillance under Mr Kayihura’s
tenure, the longest of any IGP in Uganda, has undergone incessant
alterations uncommon to intelligence communities to devastating effect.
Kaweesi’s murder in broad day light was the 12th
of its kind under Mr Kayihura’s watch in the past five years. While
police insists it has made several arrests in all these cases (they have
over 10 suspects in Kaweesi’s alone already).
Twin terror bombings
These killings started two years after the twin terror bombings in Kampala in 2010. Over 70 people died and hundreds more got injured in the biggest attack Uganda has ever witnessed, which was attributed to lapses in intelligence gathering.
These killings started two years after the twin terror bombings in Kampala in 2010. Over 70 people died and hundreds more got injured in the biggest attack Uganda has ever witnessed, which was attributed to lapses in intelligence gathering.
In a 2014, stinger against Mr Kayihura, retired
Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Herbert Rheno Karugaba said the
disbandment of the Special Branch and the side-lining of the CIID had
severely degraded the ability of the police to fulfil its constitutional
functions.
No comments :
Post a Comment