Shape up or ship out - Kayihura tells lazy officers

By Steven Candia                         

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Gen. Kale Kayihura yesterday read the riot Act on lazy police officers, telling them to shape up or ship, saying the force has no room for lethargy.

Visibly vexed, Kayihura warned that the police leadership and he in particular will soon crack the whip hard on indisciplined and sloppy officers, saying there are two options-either to work or go home.

At one point he literary told off lazy officers to quit the force and go home and rear chicken or look after goats.

“But looking after goats also requires some work. Goat herding is serious business. May be you should go and drink Malwa (local beer) and be like drunkards in the village,” he said at the police training school Kabalye, Masindi district. 

He was speaking at the pass out of 21 police officers who have been undergoing a high level crisis response training in countering terrorism.

Anti terrorism officers during a parade at the recent 100-year police celebrations. PHOTO/Kennedy Oryema

The one month rigorous training by tactical officers from the Turkish Special Forces was aimed at re-equipping the officers with skills necessary to respond to crisis such hostage taking, a highly skilled operation.

The force, he said, is faced with serious threats such as terrorism which makes it a no go area for sluggish people. The training is aimed at building the capacity of the force in fighting terrorism.

Impressed by the demonstrations of the trainees, Kayihura said, he is disheartened by the lackluster performance of police officers once they leave the school, blaming it on indiscipline.

“Here you perform so well but when you get out there it is something else. The problem is indiscipline,” Kayihura said. The force, he said, will not condone lethargy.  “We are going to be serious. This indiscipline and laziness must stop,” he said.

Moses Kafeero, the commandant of the school in separate interview said only 21 out of the initial 26 officers drawn from the Counter Terrorism (CT), Field Force Unit (FFU) and the training school managed to complete the strenuous course, to be completed in Turkey. “This is meant to enhance their skills in crisis response under counter terrorism,” Kafeero said.

Both Kayihura and Kafeero said the training was a result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries providing for among other capacity building through training.