Museveni’s order to police is risky

More teargas for Besigye

Jude Kagoro says what is happening at police under Ochola is not surprising. He says politics in Uganda is shaped in such a way that security forces are part and parcel of government.

“Officers subconsciously refer to NRM as our side and the opposition as the other side,” he told The Independent, “under such circumstances, Ochola cannot do anything different.”

Kagoro said that from his research, it is clear that one of the defacto roles of police is to defend the ruling government against the opposition.

“Kale might have brought the police into the centre of politics,” Kagoro explained, “But this role has a much longer history. The colonial government used the police for that, the same applies to the post-colonial government and Museveni’s government continues to use it.”

For police officers to build their careers, Kagoro explained, they have to understand this dynamic. “A good commander is seen as one who is able to contain the opposition,” Kagoro said, “If you are overrun, you are in trouble.”

So police is likely to continue firing teargas and live bullets and invading media houses to block opposition broadcasts.

And President Museveni’s carry-all statement is likely to worsen the situation.

Already the police and opposition players are locked in contention over POMA. The police insist they must grant permission before the opposition politicians can conduct any activity. But the politicians disagree.

“Out of respect, we inform police of our activities and we know that according to the law, we do not need to seek for permission and they are not supposed to block us from addressing our supporters,” Patrick Amuriat, the FDC president, told journalists.

He says his party always respectfully informs the police of its activities; be they small in-door meetings or big outdoor activities. He says in all cases, police often disrupts them.

In April alone the police blocked Besigye and FDC activities in Jinja, Tororo, Kaliro, Mubende, Mbarara, Kigezi, Kabale, Kasese, and Bushenyi.

Besigye has been dragged out of radio studios in Bushenyi, Jinja, and Mbarara.

“We condemn acts of harassing people and teargasing people by police because this is not expected of a Force that is supposed to keep law and order,” he says.

Besigye meanwhile says Museveni is using the same tactics the British colonialists used to block opposition groups. He says Museveni uses threats and guns.

“What you are seeing now is a sign that Mr Museveni fears the power of the people. That is why he does not want us to talk to them so that they can get empowered,” he said after police blocked him from holding rallies in Bushenyi.

Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga says opposition politicians are free to carry out activities aimed at building support in preparation for the upcoming elections, but many refuse to first notify police.

He says even when some opposition politicians write to police, they are deliberately vague.

“They just say during this month, we will hold rallies here and there,” he says,“We are noticing that they are doing this because may be they get mileage and political capital out of their confrontations with police. Whenever police comes in, they spread the message that police is brutalising them.”

“There is a deliberate effort to portray police in a certain way, turn the public against it and then win a sympathy vote. That is not right,” he adds.

As the political environment gets more charged ahead of the 2021 elections, there are fears that the confrontations between the opposition and police could get worse.

With the police force Ochola oversees already facing intense criticism for brutality and persecution of the opposition, it is not clear if he is concerned about a legacy. In any case he is 60 years old and looking at retirement. Having spent 30 of those years building a professional reputation in police, will he see retirement as a relief or rejection?

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