Kayihura is working himself into ICC hands
By Bernard M. Ddumba
24th January 2011
Ever since General Kale Kayihura was appointed Inspector General of Police [IGP], I have been following his actions. I did so because instinctively, I knew from the word go that Kayihura’s appointment as IGP, although strategic for Museveni’s desire to militarise every institution in Uganda, would be a terrible thing for Kayihura himself.
Museveni is a very clever and heartless dictator. He is using people like Kayihura now to fight his political battles. But I can guarantee you one thing: As sure as night follows day, the day Museveni comes to the conclusion that Kayihura is no longer needed in the struggle to achieve his ultimate political objective of handing power to his son Muhoozi, he will leave Kayihura to hang dry with a smelly record as IGP.
Let us examine the facts. Under Gen. Kayihura, Uganda Police has turned into a very brutal anti-people force. It has been involved in some of the most violent encounters in which many unarmed civilians have lost their lives. The Mabira protests, the Kayunga protests, the Kiseka market protests, and the Kasubi tombs protest; all of them saw lose of innocent lives.
Under Kayihura’s watch, the brutal Black Mamba militias were allowed to disguise themselves in police uniforms. Under Kayihura’s watch, the army and police have been fully merged into one agency of terror. Police men and women now wear military uniforms; making it impossible for anyone to tell who is a police officer, who is a Black Mamba militia, or who is a UPDF soldier.
Under Kayihura’s watch, the stick wielding Kiboko Squad militia were formed with an open nod of approval from some of Kayihura’s officers. In fact, Uganda Correspondent once published a story that linked the Kiboko Squad directly with Kayihura’s police force. The Kiboko Squad’s violent activities are well documented.
This State militia has beaten and wounded hundreds of Ugandans whose only crime was to take to the streets to protest against Museveni’s social political injustices. Not even Dr. Kizza Besigye, the leader of the biggest opposition in Uganda, was spared the whip by Kayihura’s Kiboko Squad. To this day, not a single member of the Kiboko Squad militia has been arrested and prosecuted by Kayihura’s police force.
Under Kayihura’s watch, several State-leaning militias are now being formed across the country in preparation for violence during or after the general elections next month. A friend of mine from northern Uganda has told me that hundreds of young unemployed men have been armed to teeth by the State.
There is concrete evidence, and I mean solid evidence, to prove that some of these militias have already been deployed outside their communities so that they can freely wreck havoc in other communities without the fear of being identified.
Under Kayihura’s watch and authority, the Uganda Police force imported a fleet of Chinese made public terrorism vehicles. Last week, in an obvious attempt to intimidate the public, Kayihura decided to roll his convoy of deadly vehicles into town in broad day light for maximum publicity.
I have no chance of ever meeting a powerful General like Kayihura. I am therefore pleading with anyone who can reach him to tell him that the world [and the International Criminal Court [ICC] in particular] is watching his every move. Someone should tell General Kayihura that he is slowly but surely “working hard” to ensure that he ends up straight into the ICC’s hands.
General Kayihura’s Kenyan counterpart General Hussein never did anything as horrible as what Kayihura has already done to innocent Ugandans. In spite of that, Kenya’s police chief General Hussein is now an indicted man awaiting trial at the ICC in The Hague. Kayihura should know that it’s no longer a defence for him to later claim that he “acted on orders from above”.
A time will come when even the police officers Kayihura is using today will lay their teargas guns down and join the people; because they are victims too; they are hostages being used against their will. I was really touched by the sight of a Tunisian policewoman on Aljazeera TV weeping alongside protestors and telling the world how they [as police officers] had been used under deposed President Ben Ali’s regime.
They had been used to do things they absolutely detested; but had nothing to do. But when the opportunity came, they turned against the same State that they had served under duress. So I will say this to Kayihura: Watch out my brother. The world has become a very small place for criminals; and it seems you are aspiring to be an ICC criminal.
In this 2011 election, the stakes are very high. Ugandans and the world are watching and waiting to see what you will do with your newly acquired weapons of terror. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Please log into www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
