Revenue Protection Unit is a nightmare
Sep 27, 2005
Letter of the day <br><br>SIR — I am disappointment with the way special revenue protection unit personnel do their business on the Malaba-Jinja road. I travel on that road at least twice a week and would like to make some observations.
Letter of the day
SIR — I am disappointment with the way special revenue protection unit personnel do their business on the Malaba-Jinja road. I travel on that road at least twice a week and would like to make some observations.
These men behave unprofessionally. It is true revenue must be collected and there are smugglers on the road but that does not make all of those who travel on that road criminals. There are revenue check-points at the Busia and Malaba borders and a checkpoint at Busitema at the junctions to Busia and Tororo.
These are clearly demarcated places with roadblocks and everyone who stops there knows why and does so willingly. My concern is about the men we meet near the swampy areas between Bugiri, Iganga and Jinja. Their behaviour is sickening. Many of us are left with our hearts in our mouths and it is not unusual to hear passengers exclaiming, “mama tufudde!†(we are dead).
Terrorism is not only about throwing bombs and hacking people to death, it can also be waylaying and chasing travellers with deadly AK-47 rifles without any apparent reason.
Men in army fatigues and unmarked saloon cars will brandish guns and stop vehicles, especially taxis and search passengers in a way that makes them frightened to death. Granted, revenue is very important for this country, but it should not be collected or protected at the expense of the citizen’s freedom.
The NRA bush war was won because of the good relationship between the soldiers and the wanainchi. Just imagine if a driver mistook the revenue fellows for thugs and refused to stop!
On the other hand, by the way they behave and the cars they drive, how is one supposed to distinguish them from highway robbers? What of the guns! When can they be used and who will be the target during the chasing of a taxi carrying 24 passengers?
Special Protection Unit vehicles should be clearly marked and if anybody is stopped by people in such a vehicle and refuses to stop, at least there is a good reason to suspect that he is trying to hide something. Many times, Police speed control units have their patrol cars parked along the road and nobody will ever doubt who they are. But why hide in the sugar cane plantation of Kakira or the forests of Busitema?
Drivers who are found in possession of smuggled goods should be heavily punished because they are supposed to know what they are carrying before they set off. This alone would deter drivers risking their vehicles being impounded.
Otherwise, 24 passengers in a taxi can be killed for a box of cigarettes!
I am told the officials who work with the special revenue Protection Unit are highly educated but their behaviour makes me doubt that.
It is true guns have been demystified in Uganda but they still remain mysterious when used by these men. And chasing passengers has often yielded nothing in terms of revenue collection.
However, the terror it causes to those who are chased makes one wonder whether we have seen the last of the panda gari days! I request the internal affairs minister, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunga and the Commissioner general of URA, Allen Kagina to look into this matter. It is really
shameful.
James William Mugeni
Tororo
SIR — I am disappointment with the way special revenue protection unit personnel do their business on the Malaba-Jinja road. I travel on that road at least twice a week and would like to make some observations.
These men behave unprofessionally. It is true revenue must be collected and there are smugglers on the road but that does not make all of those who travel on that road criminals. There are revenue check-points at the Busia and Malaba borders and a checkpoint at Busitema at the junctions to Busia and Tororo.
These are clearly demarcated places with roadblocks and everyone who stops there knows why and does so willingly. My concern is about the men we meet near the swampy areas between Bugiri, Iganga and Jinja. Their behaviour is sickening. Many of us are left with our hearts in our mouths and it is not unusual to hear passengers exclaiming, “mama tufudde!†(we are dead).
Terrorism is not only about throwing bombs and hacking people to death, it can also be waylaying and chasing travellers with deadly AK-47 rifles without any apparent reason.
Men in army fatigues and unmarked saloon cars will brandish guns and stop vehicles, especially taxis and search passengers in a way that makes them frightened to death. Granted, revenue is very important for this country, but it should not be collected or protected at the expense of the citizen’s freedom.
The NRA bush war was won because of the good relationship between the soldiers and the wanainchi. Just imagine if a driver mistook the revenue fellows for thugs and refused to stop!
On the other hand, by the way they behave and the cars they drive, how is one supposed to distinguish them from highway robbers? What of the guns! When can they be used and who will be the target during the chasing of a taxi carrying 24 passengers?
Special Protection Unit vehicles should be clearly marked and if anybody is stopped by people in such a vehicle and refuses to stop, at least there is a good reason to suspect that he is trying to hide something. Many times, Police speed control units have their patrol cars parked along the road and nobody will ever doubt who they are. But why hide in the sugar cane plantation of Kakira or the forests of Busitema?
Drivers who are found in possession of smuggled goods should be heavily punished because they are supposed to know what they are carrying before they set off. This alone would deter drivers risking their vehicles being impounded.
Otherwise, 24 passengers in a taxi can be killed for a box of cigarettes!
I am told the officials who work with the special revenue Protection Unit are highly educated but their behaviour makes me doubt that.
It is true guns have been demystified in Uganda but they still remain mysterious when used by these men. And chasing passengers has often yielded nothing in terms of revenue collection.
However, the terror it causes to those who are chased makes one wonder whether we have seen the last of the panda gari days! I request the internal affairs minister, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunga and the Commissioner general of URA, Allen Kagina to look into this matter. It is really
shameful.
James William Mugeni
Tororo