Gen. Kayihura defends Police

By Mary Karugaba

Inspector General of Police Gen.Kale Kayihura has defended Police actions saying they act professionally despite civilians' hostility towards them.

Appearing before the Human Rights Committee, opposition MPs instead used the opportunity to attack him over the recent chaos at the KCCA during the impeachment of the Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago.

Lukwago was last week voted out of office by KCCA councilors after a tribunal found him guilty of incompetence and abuse of office.  He lost the ballot by 29 votes to three amidst protest from his supporters, opposition MPs and his lawyers.

However, three days later, Court ruled that Lukwago was still Lord Mayor until his petition challenging the tribunal’s report is disposed of.

During the meeting MPs accused the police of brutality and harassment.  They also accused Police of conniving with the plain clothed men to beat up civilians.

“What happened at KCCA is what has been happening all over the country. The Police just look on as Kiboko wielding men beat up and terrorize civilians,” MP Hussein Kyanjo complained.

Latiff Ssebagala narrated what he went through during the chaos and mentioned several names of the police officers who were in charge. “As the overall Police boss Gen. Kayihura was in the know of whatever was going on. All along I believed in dialogue but now I have changed my method,” he said.

Reagan Okumu told the officers to be cautious because regimes change. “You should remember that those peeps and uniforms you are putting on belong to the state. Things can change,” he said.

Gerald Karuhanga tabling pictures of what he referred to as evidence of Police brutality, he wondered whether the police had become partisan.

Kayihura however said investigations are still going on to determine whether the officers used excessive force.

He told the meeting that a number of reforms have been initiated in the Police force to ensure human rights compliance. “These include creation of the professional standards unit, strict enforcement of the Police Code of conduct, emphasis of training in human rights and recently the elevation and establishment of the directorate of human rights and legal services,” he said.