Operation Wembley Like First Aid
Nov 12, 2002
When President Yoweri Museveni set up a military squad under Col. Elly Kayanja in June to deal with the then escalating security problem in and around Kampala— whose operation its commander code-named “Wembleyâ€â€” the President ought to have braced
Though Not A Perfect Long-Term Solution, We Needed It To Address The Rapidly Escalating Crime Rate
Charles Peter Mayiga
When President Yoweri Museveni set up a military squad under Col. Elly Kayanja in June to deal with the then escalating security problem in and around Kampala— whose operation its commander code-named “Wembleyâ€â€” the President ought to have braced himself for a legal and political whirlwind.
Under Uganda’s legal system, it is the duty of the Police force to prevent and investigate crime; and the Police are obliged to carry out their work with presumptive caution, bearing in mind the culprits’ rights, guaranteed by constitutional provisions. Hence, everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty, under a process which must be presided over by a court (or tribunal) of competent jurisdiction acting with judicious impartiality.
The presumption of innocence of accused persons is derived from the salient tenets of the rule of law, which require the State to protect all its citizens against abuse and prejudice, which often mar the objectivity of the human mind. It is for that reason that whoever is perceived to have breached the peace or infringed the rights of others should be placed before an impartial judicial officer, with all the evidence that contradicts his assumed innocence, before he can be punished.
Under the law (and under normal circumstances) the Police are supposed to carry out thorough investigations before effecting an arrest. At the time of arrest the culprit should be informed of his right of access to a lawyer and, more importantly, that he is not required to prove his innocence (in other words, he can opt not to make a statement or say anything to the arresting officer); and he should be formally charged before courts of law within 48 hours of his arrest.
As a lawyer, with a fair knowledge of the law, I should be seen to advocate for the orthodox methods of investigations, arrests, trials and convictions as enunciated in our statute books and as are upheld by legal principles, born out of common practice and jurisprudence.
As an individual, I subscribe to democratic values and integrity in the management of public affairs, both of which engender the rule of law. And the rule of law can only flourish with the development of institutional infrastructure and capacity to deal with matters of general interest. To that extent, if robbers and murderers are terrorising Kampala, the Police should be strengthened with finances and equipment to detect, prevent and investigate crime.
But as pragmatists, we should be able to discern the distinction between what is ideal or desirable from what is achievable.
Each time President Museveni criticises the Police for inefficiency and corruption, I weigh his remarks with cynicism because it is his government that has led that force to despondency by failing to provide for it adequately.
The Police, in their current form, lack the institutional capacity to effectively deal with the dangerous criminals that caused so much mayhem in the city. Arguments about equipping the Police or their powers of arrest and the fundamental human rights of everybody— including suspect criminals— sound noble albeit idealist in the circumstances.
The politician, on the other hand, will take the argument to higher levels, citing Police ineptitude as Museveni’s weakness; a ploy, by commission or omission, which is intended to keep the force’s performance levels low in order to justify reliance on the military in which he has more trust as its godfather. The merits or otherwise of the politicians’ argument is not the subject of this article, but I would be constrained to offer a significantly contradictory point of view.
However, I happen to be a victim of Kampala’s bandits. They robbed me of property worth millions of shillings from my home, traumatised my little children and inflicted a sizeable cut on my head. It is by sheer luck that I am still live. What I suffered at the hands of these men is what so many other residents have experienced— some of them were actually murdered.
In all situations, people have run to the Police for help, but the results are almost standard. No transportation, no communication, no fuel, no funds to follow up leads, etc, yet some of the criminals were enjoying protection from some of the numerous security agencies. The inadequacies in the operations of the Police are the very cause of the escalation of crime, because the culprits are well aware that Maj. General Kautmba Wamala’s men and women cannot catch them!
So what happens to the safety of the victims? How does one deal with the colossal losses as hard-earned property is being whisked out of homesteads by gun-wielding vandals?
How does one maintain calm and stability within the city? My considered opinion is that while everyone hopes that the mess in the Police will finally be sorted out, a short-term measure must be implemented to halt the devastation and therein lies my support for Operation Wembley.
The methods of Operation Wembley are quite volatile. The operatives being used are largely ignorant of the basic laws. A few people have been summarily “put out of action,†to use the Colonel’s phrase, perhaps for reasons other than being members of armed gangs (and even these should be put on trial). But the overall objective of the operation and the general good attained far outweighs the unfortunate incidents.
Those who have died should be looked at as victims of an exercise whose broad purpose is to rid Kampala of men who do not hesitate to use deadly weapons just to grab electronic gadgets.
The human rights activists are fully charged over the rights of criminals (which is as well), but they ought to remember that I, too, have rights. So do victims like Lilian Sonko, Semwezi Kaggwa and a host of Police officers who have died in the line of duty. My children are entitled to quiet, peaceful nights, without seeing their dad’s blood gushing from all over his head.
Operation Wembley should not be the ultimate solution to lawlessness in the country. The Police and the courts of law should be enabled to perform their traditional roles, but in the meantime, the citizens need to live their lives in peace. In all fairness, Col. Kayanja does not carry out his assignment with total disregard of the law.
His aide, Lt. John Kasule, is a lawyer; his assistant is a senior Police officer, indeed the Deputy Regional Commander, David Magara, who brought with him a host of Police detectives who try to give the conclusion of each arrest a semblance of normalcy.
Some of my stolen valuables were recovered by Kayanja and his men, which they promptly handed over to me. He arrested some of the vagabonds who broke into my house and I can now get some sleep. Everything considered, I cannot fail to commend Museveni’s government notwithstanding.
The author is a lawyer working in Kampala
Charles Peter Mayiga
When President Yoweri Museveni set up a military squad under Col. Elly Kayanja in June to deal with the then escalating security problem in and around Kampala— whose operation its commander code-named “Wembleyâ€â€” the President ought to have braced himself for a legal and political whirlwind.
Under Uganda’s legal system, it is the duty of the Police force to prevent and investigate crime; and the Police are obliged to carry out their work with presumptive caution, bearing in mind the culprits’ rights, guaranteed by constitutional provisions. Hence, everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty, under a process which must be presided over by a court (or tribunal) of competent jurisdiction acting with judicious impartiality.
The presumption of innocence of accused persons is derived from the salient tenets of the rule of law, which require the State to protect all its citizens against abuse and prejudice, which often mar the objectivity of the human mind. It is for that reason that whoever is perceived to have breached the peace or infringed the rights of others should be placed before an impartial judicial officer, with all the evidence that contradicts his assumed innocence, before he can be punished.
Under the law (and under normal circumstances) the Police are supposed to carry out thorough investigations before effecting an arrest. At the time of arrest the culprit should be informed of his right of access to a lawyer and, more importantly, that he is not required to prove his innocence (in other words, he can opt not to make a statement or say anything to the arresting officer); and he should be formally charged before courts of law within 48 hours of his arrest.
As a lawyer, with a fair knowledge of the law, I should be seen to advocate for the orthodox methods of investigations, arrests, trials and convictions as enunciated in our statute books and as are upheld by legal principles, born out of common practice and jurisprudence.
As an individual, I subscribe to democratic values and integrity in the management of public affairs, both of which engender the rule of law. And the rule of law can only flourish with the development of institutional infrastructure and capacity to deal with matters of general interest. To that extent, if robbers and murderers are terrorising Kampala, the Police should be strengthened with finances and equipment to detect, prevent and investigate crime.
But as pragmatists, we should be able to discern the distinction between what is ideal or desirable from what is achievable.
Each time President Museveni criticises the Police for inefficiency and corruption, I weigh his remarks with cynicism because it is his government that has led that force to despondency by failing to provide for it adequately.
The Police, in their current form, lack the institutional capacity to effectively deal with the dangerous criminals that caused so much mayhem in the city. Arguments about equipping the Police or their powers of arrest and the fundamental human rights of everybody— including suspect criminals— sound noble albeit idealist in the circumstances.
The politician, on the other hand, will take the argument to higher levels, citing Police ineptitude as Museveni’s weakness; a ploy, by commission or omission, which is intended to keep the force’s performance levels low in order to justify reliance on the military in which he has more trust as its godfather. The merits or otherwise of the politicians’ argument is not the subject of this article, but I would be constrained to offer a significantly contradictory point of view.
However, I happen to be a victim of Kampala’s bandits. They robbed me of property worth millions of shillings from my home, traumatised my little children and inflicted a sizeable cut on my head. It is by sheer luck that I am still live. What I suffered at the hands of these men is what so many other residents have experienced— some of them were actually murdered.
In all situations, people have run to the Police for help, but the results are almost standard. No transportation, no communication, no fuel, no funds to follow up leads, etc, yet some of the criminals were enjoying protection from some of the numerous security agencies. The inadequacies in the operations of the Police are the very cause of the escalation of crime, because the culprits are well aware that Maj. General Kautmba Wamala’s men and women cannot catch them!
So what happens to the safety of the victims? How does one deal with the colossal losses as hard-earned property is being whisked out of homesteads by gun-wielding vandals?
How does one maintain calm and stability within the city? My considered opinion is that while everyone hopes that the mess in the Police will finally be sorted out, a short-term measure must be implemented to halt the devastation and therein lies my support for Operation Wembley.
The methods of Operation Wembley are quite volatile. The operatives being used are largely ignorant of the basic laws. A few people have been summarily “put out of action,†to use the Colonel’s phrase, perhaps for reasons other than being members of armed gangs (and even these should be put on trial). But the overall objective of the operation and the general good attained far outweighs the unfortunate incidents.
Those who have died should be looked at as victims of an exercise whose broad purpose is to rid Kampala of men who do not hesitate to use deadly weapons just to grab electronic gadgets.
The human rights activists are fully charged over the rights of criminals (which is as well), but they ought to remember that I, too, have rights. So do victims like Lilian Sonko, Semwezi Kaggwa and a host of Police officers who have died in the line of duty. My children are entitled to quiet, peaceful nights, without seeing their dad’s blood gushing from all over his head.
Operation Wembley should not be the ultimate solution to lawlessness in the country. The Police and the courts of law should be enabled to perform their traditional roles, but in the meantime, the citizens need to live their lives in peace. In all fairness, Col. Kayanja does not carry out his assignment with total disregard of the law.
His aide, Lt. John Kasule, is a lawyer; his assistant is a senior Police officer, indeed the Deputy Regional Commander, David Magara, who brought with him a host of Police detectives who try to give the conclusion of each arrest a semblance of normalcy.
Some of my stolen valuables were recovered by Kayanja and his men, which they promptly handed over to me. He arrested some of the vagabonds who broke into my house and I can now get some sleep. Everything considered, I cannot fail to commend Museveni’s government notwithstanding.
The author is a lawyer working in Kampala