The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Buganda Parliamentary Caucus has given a list of over 30 people suspected to be possible assailants terrorizing people in Masaka to Internal Affairs Minister Gen Kahinda Otafire.
The MPs from Buganda led by their chairperson and Butambala MP Muwanga Kivumbi met with Otafire at the Parliament members lounge in a meeting called for by the Minister.
The meeting comes ahead of the MPs’ planned trip to Masaka region where machete-wielding men have been targeting residents. The attacks have seen machete-wielding thugs hack over 26 people to death over the past few weeks. Greater Masaka comprises Bukomansibi, Lwengo and Masaka districts.
In his report to parliament on Tuesday, Minister Gen David Muhoozi said there is heightened security in the region, which has led to the arrest of 11 suspects in connection to the attacks.
Now after an hour’s meeting with Otafire, the Buganda MPs agreed to work together with government, especially due to the fact that a lot of the country’s money goes into security.
The MPs however refuted the allegation that the security situation was the making of some politicians. According to Muwanga Kivumba, it is sad for government to think that politicians who want votes or leverage from people can go ahead to harm them with machetes
Kivumbi said that those who want to politic should take it to other places and leave the people of Masaka.
Kivumbi says that the list handed over to the Minister to look through was generated through their networks, among the residents in Masaka.
According to Otafire who spoke to journalists after the meeting, he wanted to put the anxiety of the MPs at rest. He said government is trying to involve the politicians in the move to pacify Masaka.
He maintained that politics is part of the reason for the Masaka insecurity.
He says the situation in Masaka, and now some parts of Kampala is a growing concern, but it takes the public and the local people to help the security organs to defeat the criminals.
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MASAKA IN BLOOD AND FEAR…
Matters of security must be left to security….yet criminology and policing are as diverse and cross-disciplinary to include- mathematicians, lawyers, doctors, geologists, historians, even psychics. So, my intention is not to overcrowd an already complex and emotionally charged crime scene in Masaka, but to provide an empirical insight for theoretical integration in a potentially more satisfying manner. For this to happen, I’ll be looking at the four building blocks of crime…..(1) the source (2) the victims (3) the perpetrators and (4) the investigations and all this will be in light of purpose and eventual outcome…
Masaka has become synonymous with gruesome murders. Dead bodies littered with lacerations, blood spots, platters and sometimes walls with words dipped in blood peering across “WE SHALL BE BACK.” Such is bound to create a restive atmosphere and a people gripped with grief and fear.
On 31st August,2021, president Museveni came out and told the nation that Masaka murders were connected to politicians. Previously, security agencies have connected the murders to elements of the al-shabab…. the allied democratic forces (ADF), for Gen. Kale Kayihura, behind every murder, there was a Muslim….. profiling. Since 2015, with the murder of Joan Kagezi, Felix Kaweesa, Abiriga, Suzan Magara, Kirumira and the recent attempted assassination of Gen Katumba Wamala, in all these cases, the president has been referring to the perpetrators as PIGS. The president should be reminded that PIGS is a common noun and not a proper noun- for the PIGS to be identifiable, he has to name names. The president’s ambiguity only provides grounds for suspicion to prevail as it does not attend to the whys and wherefores. On the same day, the president also instructed a joint security force including the counter terrorism, the military intelligence, the internal security, the special forces command to camp in Masaka. The problem is not the lack of experienced security personnel….. cause we even have surplus that we export in outside countries… the problem could be much wider.
(I) Source of insecurity: man and conflict are inseparable. From the beginning of time, Adam and the universe were one and the same…. meaning, Adam commanded the world and the world bowed. However, with the creation of Eve, there was a new world order….. power had to be shared through consultations and consensus. There was also to be reward and punishment for every crime/sin. When Adam ate/chewed the forbidden fruit, we inherited “death” as a punishment- the reward resided in the earthly delights and pleasures of life. This probably informs the basis for the classical approach in criminology- that in committing a crime, the perpetrators first weigh the pros and cons before them. They consider the rewards as opposed to the punishments. This approach points to the push and pull factors that may lead to crime. Plato believed that it was poor education that resulted into crime and he provided good education. For Aristotle, he believed in thorough punishment in order to prevent further crime. In trying to combat crime, government should come up with preventive interventions….. joblessness among the youths…….if one does not have what to die for….. then, they do not have what to live for…….. For justice to be maintained in a society, an established list of crimes must be recognised & appropriate punishment determined….. to have big people and small people will only call for big crimes and small crimes….. people should be treated the same under the law.
(II) Victims: When societies emerge, so do technologies with growing international influences. This has spawned white collar crimes….such as; securities fraud, tax embezzlement, computer and identity theft (cyber). However, Masaka presents a different scenario. 50% of the targeted victims are above the age of 50 including a 78year old man and 81 year old woman with no known source of income or wealth. The target also included a trey of young men who in their stupor state were hacked, one survived with serious injuries. In all the 30 listed murders in Masaka there’s no trace of robbery……so, what could be the motivating factor…….
(III) Perpetrators: The positivists reject the idea that criminals take a rational decision before committing a crime- they hold it that some individuals are born abnormal and they hold certain physical features which are attributable to crime….. this line of thought resonates with the Atavists…. developed by Lombroso, they believe that crime can be predicted since criminals possess certain physiological characteristics…. however greater research found both theories to be subjective and prone to discrimination.
Museveni seems to be at variance with both the positivist and Atavist approaches and speaking more to the social construct approach which links crime to densely populated, low income, urban communities. That due to social circles, individuals learn from those around them. Museveni’s argument that politicians influence the murders in Masaka does not follow known logic. In the recent general elections, the central region (Buganda including Masaka) largely voted opposition. So, it would be in the opposition’s best interest to maintain good relations with the communities. However, it would be in the NRM interest to show that the newly elected leaders are ineffective…… and following the art of war strategems,….. you attack your enemy at their weakest…. Robert Kyangulanyi & co. have no known formal training in security… and that’s where they’re being attacked
(IV) Investigations: The Seneca philosophy…….”He who does not prevent a crime when he can, encourages it.” It seems Seneca was speaking to president Museveni. If the perpetrators of the Masaka murders are residents…..then, it’s a leaned trait. But from whom are they learning from? Who is it that is providing the aileron that gives them the balance to learn? President Museveni has severally made public appearances proclaiming himself as the Ssabalwanyi, the monopoly of violence, the first leader in the last 500 years to have secured all the frontiers of Ugandan territory…… the question remains, if Museveni is this tower of strength….why is he letting all these crimes to go on……is he a willful participant in the wanton killing of Ugandans?
In most of the criminal cases, investigations suffer a sea of changes. The handlers seem to be in a rather reactionary and out of depth for the needed information concerning the ongoing investigation. It all starts with the panicking spokesperson of the police. Who on whimsical instincts provides on what/who could have caused the crime. Later when it’s discovered that the given “lead” was actually “misleading” then, firefighting begins within the various state security agencies. Sometimes, the different security agencies fight for visibility and relevance in order to attract lots of funds….at times it is personal vendetta which spills over into inter-agency security conflicts. In the build-up of these conflicts, investigations are muddled up and they are not followed up to their logical conclusion,- in the process would be culprits are left scot-free which bolsters and only crystallizes their criminal intentions to carry out more crime.
Lastly, I’ll talk to Sigmund Freud’s tripartite mind. Sigmund divided the human mind into three parts: the Id, which is the unrestrained part of our mind. It’s the unconscious mind which deals with fantasies…… the ego, it is the part that finds realistic ways of satisfying the fantasies of the Id………… the super ego, it is that part of the mind that incorporates learnt values and norms of society. It evokes the impulse of gilt conscious…..
All crimes begin with the mind….. the intra conflicts, where the mind is conflict with itself…..this usually escalates into inter conflicts, where a person attacks another person of different beliefs, colour, creed……in order to to control crime…..we should be able to control our mental faculties and that speaks to a multitude of disciplines…….I would have talked about how Masaka is the heart-beat of Buganda and Buganda nationalism…. but let’s first save lives.
Rajab Kakyama