The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT Police has said they are going to clampdown on unruly Subaru motorists in Kampala.
The development follows an incident that happened on Sunday evening at a police checkpoint in Buloba where a fleet of Subaru racers who normally form a racing convoy stopped and became aggressive towards traffic officers.
According to the Police Spokesperson, Fred Enanga, the Traffic Enforcement Team at Buloba had intercepted an unidentified driver in a Mark X car that was numberless at the checkpoint after he had failed to stop at Bujuuko and got involved in a minor accident with a taxi Toyota registration number UBA681T.
He said the traffic Enforcement team at Buloba stopped the driver for a search operation. During the process, the Subaru racers stopped and caused a fracas at the checkpoint as they tried to help their colleague in the Mark X. He said a driver of Subaru Forester Black, registration number UBD026C jumped out of his vehicle and started inciting other members, attempted to grab a gun from one of the police officers.
The gun belonged to the Police constable identified as Tony Moris Ogwang who was guarding the traffic enforcement team.
Enanga notes that during the scuffle, 8 bullets were discharged and one Police Constable Samuel Mutungirehe was injured on the lower stomach. He was rushed to Cathalon clinic where he got treatment and got out of danger.
“The numberless Mark X was forcefully driven away when the officers were attending to the colleague and the driver was aided to escape,” said Enanga.
He added that by these actions, the two drivers committed very serious motoring offenses of obstruction, assaulting an officer on duty, attempted robbery of a gun and dangerous driving.
He further revealed that Police has gotten complaints of the growing habit of the illegal street and highway racing by the Subaru motorists and along the highways from residents of Najeera, Ntinda, Mukono, Nakawa and Bukoto among others
However, the Subaru, that was driven by the errant driver UBD026C was abandoned and Enanga said it is what will guide the investigations.
********
URN
There is no doubt that the agencies are over-stretched and working under challenging environment, especially in this period of electioneering. Apparently, there is a concerted plan by the enemies of peace in Uganda to provoke police and other security agencies while on official duty, into a fight that will probably degenerate into a mass shooting with probable loss of many lives. When this happens, then there will likely be a mass uprising especially by the goons who are being organised by various groups in the country with an aim of causing restlessness in the country. You may have heard a statement by Kiiza Besigye and Henry Tumukunde on how they want Uganda to degenerate after the 2021 elections into what happened in Sudan, and Tunisia, whereby sustained mass uprising led to state collapse, and government downfall.
This is therefore a wake up call to the Uganda police force leadership and that of the different security agencies, to address the following:-
1. I think there is an unacceptable level of lack of professionalism and negligence being exhibited by some police officers. The way they negligently handle weapons, the way a single armed officer can be deployed in a volatile situation in such electioneering time when tempers are high, is extremely risky to the public, and also to the police officers, in case of attack by criminals.
2. The practice of lone armed police officers moving about in town more so in crowded areas, at awkward hours of early morning, is also very risky. What if such officers fall into ambush by thugs?
3. The way some police officers handle guns while in public is also scary, especially those on 999 trucks. Guns are usually held in near horizontal position as if preparing to shoot. Imagine in case of an accidental release of a bullet what would happen.
4. There should be sustained training and retaining of the officers in new crime fighting skills because the world is fast changing. Police officers need to keep fit, so the issue of physicals should be a must. I see many very frail ones who no wonder, criminals are turning them into punching bags.
5. There should be a police unit, with mobile teams also, an equivalent of Military Police to discipline errant police officers, because PSU has become an ineffective armchair unit.
6. The fraternising by police with criminals in the name of community policing is breeding a situation of criminals looking at police as colleagues. There is also kid glove handling of these criminals, and detention centres, prisons are slowly becoming resort-like facilities rather reformatory centres. Criminals now go to prisons to rest, relax, enjoy free meals and rent-free accommodation, and acquire more training in sophisticated crime by hardcore criminals that they find in these centres. Prisons should be made as unpalatable as possible so that criminals think twice before committing crime.
As the country inches towards 2021, the year of elections, and thereafter, security must up its combat readiness, crowd management skills, alertness, and physical and mental fitness, because apparently the enemies of Uganda are plotting to cause unprecedented lawlessness and chaos in our country.