With the on-going lockdown to stem the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus, a great deal of attention has been focussed on the police force and its efforts to implement the presidential directives on social distancing, night curfew as well as maintaining law and order.
Police’s handling of the situation has won it plaudits but also drawn a lot of criticism, especially the brutality that violates basic human rights.
The Observer spoke PATRICK ONYANGO, the Kampala Metropolitan Police (KMP) spokesperson, who gives a lowdown of police’s efforts, challenges as well as the opportunities created by the lockdown.
What is your experience so far since the president ordered the lockdown?
This lockdown is unprecedented to most Ugandans, including many police officers. On that premise, there were bound to be mistakes from all sides and we are taking good lessons from them.
At first, people were not complying but when we came in with full force, people started adjusting. What I have learnt is that people don’t want change in their lifestyles. For many of those that were used to leaving bars or clubs at 3 am, telling them to stay home 24/7 for 14 days felt as though we have deprived them of their lives.
They started imagining how life will be without going to have a cup of tea or a beer with a friend…but slowly, they have adjusted. Now there is total compliance to all the presidential directives.
What is your biggest impression and challenge so far?
As I stated earlier, people don’t want anything that interferes with their life. I am impressed that people are following the directives of the president. Secondly, with this coronavirus, there are people who fear to be tested; many others have tried to escape from the quarantine centres.
Our investigations show that this is a result of the fear of stigmatisation through the wrong belief that when you are infected with the coronavirus, it’s as a result of an immoral act.
I thank the vigilant members of the public that have reported suspected cases, especially those involving Ugandans that returned from abroad
recently. We have also dedicated some effort to sensitize people to go and get tested instead of hiding in the community and infecting others.
Meanwhile, our phones are ringing off hook. Every minute people are calling you corona this, corona that… Even when people die of natural causes, we receive calls about a ‘coronavirus patient.’ We’ve basically left our routine work to handle coronavirus-related issues.
What has changed most from the way the police has been doing its work before the lockdown? Are you having more work or less work now that the KMP area is deserted?
First of all, police work changed from the normal routine of handling crime related issues to implementation of preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus.
So, the workload has been greatly reduced on counters at police stations but it has almost doubled in the field. As for me, I used to put in 10 hours a day at work but now I put in 16 hours. But I feel happy I’m doing something to secure Ugandans. That is the most important thing to me.
Meanwhile, the police director of Health Services issued guidelines on how to combat the threat of the coronavirus at police stations, especially on how to protect ourselves, the public and the suspects in cells.
We have also reduced the number of complaints received at the counters by encouraging those who wish to lodge complaints to make use of our hotlines. At all our police posts and stations, we have installed counter phones and hotlines to call.
Meanwhile, police officers from the office of the inspector general of police, deputy inspector general of police, joint chief of staff, directors, commissioners and senior police officers, we all started receiving coronavirus-related issues.
How do you compare the level of crime before and after the lockdown?
The crime rate has reduced drastically. We no longer receive many complaints. The attributes to this is that first; there is a curfew, which means movement is restricted. Even the criminals are no longer moving from place to place.
Secondly, there is security everywhere; we have deployed extra troops on the ground. Therefore, even a thug who may have a criminal intent of doing something evil will change automatically.
The police, especially its sister agency called the Local Defence Unit (LDU), has come under criticism for being high-handed in enforcing these orders to the extent that President Museveni called them pigs. How are you working to eliminate the brutality?
The police and LDUs are from different backgrounds in training and at times we understand instructions differently. Remember LDUs fall under the UPDF but the briefing they [LDUs] got was to be as professional as possible and to observe human rights in whatever they do. As a joint security team, we do not condone beating of people. In fact, we condemn it in the strongest term.
If you take the general picture of what the security agencies have done compared to a few mistakes done by a few officers, the good deeds outweigh the bad ones.
We have done a lot of good things but some people in the media don’t what to document this. Once in a while, talk about the good things that security agencies have done…don’t talk about only isolated cases of our operational mistakes. We’ve already arrested some of them like the ones who hit a pregnant woman in Busega. So, if a security personnel tortures anyone, there are channels to report and apprehend the culprit.
Where do you draw the line between police work and that of LDUs?
There is indeed a thin line. Generally we all do the same work of protecting people and their properties. We do joint patrols. Nowadays here in Kampala, we respond to emergency incidents together, both day and night.
But some foot patrol officers have complained that they are poorly facilitated and that’s why they vent their anger on errant citizens…
We do not tolerate indiscipline in the force. There are mechanisms in the institution to handle officers who vent their anger on the population.
In implementing the directives on coronavirus, the police acts as though it is immune to the threat. For instance, police officers, especially those in operations and on 999 patrols, don’t practice social distancing. Moreover they don’t have sanitizers…
We do understand the issue of social distance but we find ourselves in a situation that we have to respond to emergency calls and the only means of transport is our 999 pick-up trucks. However, we have also ensured that all officers who work in a specific group – say 999 patrols – go through stern checks to ensure everyone in the team is safe.
We don’t mix them up. We cannot fold our hands and say that we have to practice social distance; we would be betraying the people of
Uganda if we fail to respond to emergencies during this period. That’s the risk of being in police because we are called to serve and we serve Ugandans.
You see, even a police constable that guards VIPs is at risk because when thugs attack the VIP, his life won’t be spared; so is the same with
999 crew in this era of the coronavirus.
A few days ago, a WhatsApp message from KMP commander Moses Kafeero to all KMP subordinates, in which he warned that commanders will be arrested for letting civilian cars without stickers drive through their areas of command, leaked to the media. Why was the OC who leaked it arrested and detained at CPS without trial?
The officer violated the oath of secrecy that every police officer takes before leaving any police training school. That’s to keep the government and institutional secrets. So, when he leaked the internal communication to the public, he disgraced the institution; but the law will take its course.
How ready is the police to maintain law and order if the lockdown goes on for months?
All I can say is that we are ready but right now we are doing it jointly and all the security teams are on the ground to ensure that law and order is observed.
It has been alleged that the police has turned a blind eye to security officers who are misusing the ban on cars to freely drive through the city. Some are powerful UPDF generals that are ‘untouchable.’ Have you made any arrest of these officers?
We had that challenge at first but we are not turning a blind eye. In fact, we are enforcing the directives. That is why you see all the checkpoints are being manned by both police and military police. So, when an army officer is caught violating the directives, the military police arrest them and some have already been taken to Makindye military cells straight.