SPCs, LDUs banned from traffic duty
Oct 06, 2009
POLICE chief Kale Kayihura has ordered the immediate withdrawal of Special Police Constables (SPCs) and Local Defence Units (LDUs) from traffic operations.
By Ali Mambule
POLICE chief Kale Kayihura has ordered the immediate withdrawal of Special Police Constables (SPCs) and Local Defence Units (LDUs) from traffic operations. Instead, he said, Police commanders should request for more policemen to guard traffic officers.
“That business of SPCs and LDUs going to roads to guard traffic officers should stop. I don’t want to hear about it any more,†Kayihura said on Monday.
He was visiting the family of Fred Mugenyi, a taxi driver of Kisimbanyiriri village in Masaka district, who was last week shot dead by an SPC.
According to an eyewitness, the victim was driving towards Nyendo, a Masaka suburb, when a traffic Police vehicle approached.
Mugenyi, who reportedly did not have a valid driving licence, ran into a nearby banana plantation, where the SPC, Joachim Kugonza, followed him and shot him dead.
The killer cop was arrested the same day. Kayihura explained to the deceased’s father that the gunman was an SPC attached to the land protection unit.
He said he would investigate how the man got involved in traffic operations.
“I have not received a full report of how he shot dead that young man but I believe he acted as a murderer. There was no need for shooting, not even in the air,†the Police chief said.
He gave the family sh1m, 100kg of maize floor, 100kg of beans and 50kg of sugar.
“I apologise on behalf of the Police for the offence committed by Kugonza. I assure the public that in this matter, the Police force is the complainant and we shall follow the case until it is disposed of,†Kayihura said.
The deceased’s employer, Hajj Haruna Nnumba, hailed Kayihura for his humility and prompt response.
“You have set a pace as the first Inspector General of Police in Uganda to pay tribute to the relatives of a person who was killed by your officer and we shall always credit you for that,†he said.
Kayihura took the opportunity to clarify that the majority of the suspects of the riots that rocked Kampala and parts of Buganda last month were not Baganda.
“I believe that they were not acting on behalf of Buganda. They were self-seekers and hooligans who wanted to steal people’s property.â€
He blamed Mengo’s CBS radio stations for mobilising the public to riot.
“CBS was about to behave the way some of the Rwandan radio stations behaved, which resulted into massive loss of lives in the worst genocide ever in Africa,†Kayihura added.
POLICE chief Kale Kayihura has ordered the immediate withdrawal of Special Police Constables (SPCs) and Local Defence Units (LDUs) from traffic operations. Instead, he said, Police commanders should request for more policemen to guard traffic officers.
“That business of SPCs and LDUs going to roads to guard traffic officers should stop. I don’t want to hear about it any more,†Kayihura said on Monday.
He was visiting the family of Fred Mugenyi, a taxi driver of Kisimbanyiriri village in Masaka district, who was last week shot dead by an SPC.
According to an eyewitness, the victim was driving towards Nyendo, a Masaka suburb, when a traffic Police vehicle approached.
Mugenyi, who reportedly did not have a valid driving licence, ran into a nearby banana plantation, where the SPC, Joachim Kugonza, followed him and shot him dead.
The killer cop was arrested the same day. Kayihura explained to the deceased’s father that the gunman was an SPC attached to the land protection unit.
He said he would investigate how the man got involved in traffic operations.
“I have not received a full report of how he shot dead that young man but I believe he acted as a murderer. There was no need for shooting, not even in the air,†the Police chief said.
He gave the family sh1m, 100kg of maize floor, 100kg of beans and 50kg of sugar.
“I apologise on behalf of the Police for the offence committed by Kugonza. I assure the public that in this matter, the Police force is the complainant and we shall follow the case until it is disposed of,†Kayihura said.
The deceased’s employer, Hajj Haruna Nnumba, hailed Kayihura for his humility and prompt response.
“You have set a pace as the first Inspector General of Police in Uganda to pay tribute to the relatives of a person who was killed by your officer and we shall always credit you for that,†he said.
Kayihura took the opportunity to clarify that the majority of the suspects of the riots that rocked Kampala and parts of Buganda last month were not Baganda.
“I believe that they were not acting on behalf of Buganda. They were self-seekers and hooligans who wanted to steal people’s property.â€
He blamed Mengo’s CBS radio stations for mobilising the public to riot.
“CBS was about to behave the way some of the Rwandan radio stations behaved, which resulted into massive loss of lives in the worst genocide ever in Africa,†Kayihura added.