GUEST WRITER | Nicholas Sengoba
Tear gas is a good sign police vision is now clear
January 30, 2007
When the National Resistance Movement/Army (NRM/A) took over power in 1986 after defeating the Uganda National Liberation Front/Army (UNLF/A) government, one of the institutions with which NRM had an uncomfortable relationship was the Uganda Police Force (UPF).
UPF was frowned upon as a vestige of the colonial era and the remnant part of the defeated ‘backward elements’ swept aside by the liberation of 1986. The force was viewed as being dominated by people from northern Uganda (Acholi, and Langi).
This, because of a colonial policy that recruited on the basis that ‘northerners’ i.e. the Luo or Nilotics were ‘strong’ and suited for the martial activities of the army and the police.
On the other hand ‘southerners’ or Bantu (Banyankole, Basoga, Batoro, and Baganda etc) were excluded as being more ‘civil’ or ‘physically weak’ and thus proposed for activities of a cerebral nature.
Popular arguments alleged that this gave northerners monopoly over state institutions of defence (and violence) which they had (mis)used over time to terrify and dominate southerners mainly during the regimes of Dr Milton Obote, Field Marshal Idi Amin and General Tito Okello.
Therefore the victory of a southern-led and dominated NRA over a northern ‘oriented’ UNLA was taken as the beginning of the demystification and dismantling of the above order.
It was suggested that the police be disarmed or in the extreme abolished altogether and replaced by the ‘enlightened’ and ‘pro people’ NRA. The idea met with difficulty. It turned out that police work of interpreting and enforcing criminal law and order, investigating, gathering evidence and adducing it in courts of law, etc. needed a lot of training and experience. This was unsuitable and lacking in the military.
A cold and suspicious relationship persisted and saw to it that the institution of the police was so under-funded and ill-equipped that it could not do its work adequately. To date, poor housing and low salaries are some of the prominent features that affect motivation, morale and quality of policing.
The situation went a long way in entrenching the generally held negative public view of the police. That of being an inefficient and corrupt outfit abhorred by the people who bore the brunt of their inadequacies by way of bribe solicitation and a lackadaisical handling of criminal elements . Any steps towards correcting the situation were therefore welcome.
Thus as the UPF was undergoing rebuilding, the military perpetually and ‘acceptably’ played big brother with the convenient argument that the police was ‘overstretched.’ Moves emphasising militarily oriented training and politicisation were adopted.
Massive purging of the ranks and fresh recruitment at officer level was embarked upon with gusto to weed out ‘rogue elements’ but more importantly, to enable the UPF have a ‘nationally’ representative outlook and ideology. It must be added that these developments gradually ended up reflecting new political, ethnic, and military realities in the UPF. It is the martial realities that motivate the army to ‘assist’ the police in, ‘providing good, progressive leadership and guidance’.
They direct the UPF’s prominence in helping to ensure that elections are free and fair. The numerous contrary views of most judgements in election petition cases not withstanding.
Militarised organisations like the Joint Anti Terrorism Taskforce, Violent Crime Crack Unit, and according to the Uganda Human Rights Commission reports, ungazetted safe houses often supplement the police and keep suspects out of circulation.
The sort of suspects who are generally believed to be a “threat to national security,” but who due to lack of sufficient incriminating evidence can’t be held in police custody for more than the constitutionally accepted 48 hours.
It is becoming apparent that the realities of the status quo are not lost on the officers and men of the UPF. On many, it has dawned that they risk becoming irrelevant if they do not observe and effectively follow the trends of the last twenty one years in the organisation.
Today’s partisan involvement and violent enthusiasm of the police is a case in point. Whenever the UPF conveniently interprets the law to justify breaking up rallies at the Constitutional Square in Kampala, meetings in Mukono, or church services in Masulita, it serves as an opportunity for performing an act of swearing allegiance to the new dispensation and an acknowledgment of transformation.
It is an affirmation to the powers that be, that, “we have now seen the light, and cleared our vision to fit into the overall vision. The enemies of the state are ours too and we shall deal with them in a way that they won’t forget very quickly!”
This is one of the main chapters in the long and colourful story behind the anti riot police and its malignant teargas.
nicholassengoba@yahoo.com
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