As presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu began his 200-kilometre cross-country campaign run on December 26, he was shadowed every kilometer by at least 12 police pick-up trucks, two water cannon trucks and an equal number of armoured personnel carriers (APCs) - commonly known as Mamba.
The monstrous security detail also includes two other pick-up trucks and the infamous police mobile prison - fitted with software and gadgets, which disrupt telephony networks. On average, the musician-cum-politician has about 18 ever-present police/security officials on his tail apart from his Electoral Commission (EC)-sanctioned police guards – coordinating with territorial police commanders in planning the policing program for a particular area where the National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Kyagulanyi is expected to campaign.
When Kyagulanyi is crossing into another police region, the surveillance team drives ahead and meets the commanders of the region first. This was the case on December 26 when Kyagulanyi arrived in Lyantonde from Ntungamo where he spent the entire Christmas day.
A few days ago, the surveillance team was forced to drop their ominous black face hoods after the NUP research team dug up details on their commander, a one Keke Birali.
“This man, Keke Birali aka Blaze from the Counter Terrorism Police, is part of the team of brutal men who have been trailing us for several weeks now. Many of them, including Blaze have been covering their heads with dark hoods to hide their identities while they commit unspeakable atrocities on us and our people. It is important that such people understand that nothing hidden will not be revealed. They can try to hide, but we shall unmask them and expose them. While the vast majority of police and army officers are responsible people, there will be a time for accountability for those officers who use their positions to torture, main and kill our people!”
Kyagulanyi said in a post on social media. With about 15 days left to election day, presidential campaigns are still overshadowed by violence between police, army and opposition candidates. Opposition candidates and their supporters continue to stare defiantly into barrels of the gun, and at death every day, as hordes of armed policemen and soldiers continue to follow them at every turn, breaking up rallies deemed to run counter to the Covid-19 rules limiting gatherings to 200 people.
Candidates mainly; Bobi Wine, FDC’s Patrick Oboi Amuriat, the Independent Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde and surprisingly John Katumba continue to be blocked from main roads; towns, campaign venues, booked TV and radio programmes and hotels.
“Supporters are constantly harassed, beaten and prevented from coming to our campaigns by the military, but the people of Buliisa made a statement today (Nov. 26),” presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi said in a tweet on November 26.
THE TRAIL
In addition to the police fleet of pick-up trucks, water cannon trucks and APCs on standby at Lyantonde, there were other army and police trucks full of armed personnel deployed at various campaign venues. The trucks are also used to block access roads into major towns.
After a rally in Lyantonde, a pick-up truck pulled up about 20 minutes ahead of Kyagulanyi’s convoy to teargas crowds in trading centres along the dusty Lyantonde-Lumbugu road. Armed men on two other trucks parked at the boundary of Lyantonde and Rakai districts.
They kept shooting and driving off. By the time Kyagulanyi arrived, the crowds were back. At Kirangira in Kagamba sub-county, a man was hit on the head by a rubber bullet drawing the ire of local people. To disperse angry people, a water cannon truck trailing Kyagulanyi sprayed the whole village pink.
The fleet grew bigger at the Lumbugu junction where more UPDF and police troops were deployed to block the main Rakai - Kyotera road. More trucks were waiting at Kibaale township in Rakai district. Some were used to close off the Kibaale Bridge – cutting off access to the other side of the township.
“We are used to this; a day without this kind of treatment from the police would be a complete surprise. This is not any different from what happened in Mubende and Mityana, it was even worse in Gomba and Sembabule,” NUP deputy president for Buganda, Mathias Mpuuga said.
THE COST
No soorner had Kyagulanyi explained at a rally in Kachanga village in Kyotera district why he wears a bulletproof jacket than Mafundo Mutera, a police commander in Kyotera, ordered a military man to shoot and deflate the presidential candidate’s car tyres at Kifuuta trading centre.
As he raced through the more than 200km in the villages of Lyantonde, Rakai and Kyotera districts, about 16 police vehicles were hot on his trail. Interviewed earlier this month, one NUP official said they are shadowed by not less than 10 police vehicles – all full of policemen and women. These are sometimes joined by truckloads of the military and LDUs.
“There are normally four police pick-up trucks, three teargas and water canon vehicles, the mobile prison van, a minibus van and other double-cabin trucks. These move with us normally everywhere we go,” the official said.
More vehicles and personnel are also deployed along the roads that Kyagulanyi and other candidates use to access campaign venues. Asked how much they spend on fuel on an undisrupted campaign day, this official said they use between Shs 300,000 and Shs 600,000.
“It shouldn’t be expensive but police and the army force us to make very long journeys because they don’t want us to use main roads. You find that a distance that should cost about Shs 300,000, costs twice as much because of the double or triple journeys we make,” the official said.
The police and the army with bigger vehicles should be spending more money on their fleet, which trails Kyagulanyi. If a 1800cc van uses between Shs 300,000 and Shs 600,000 in fuel per day, police and army vehicles with bigger engines could be spending twice on fuel every day on the campaign trail. Police and the military may be using not less than Shs 20 million to contain Kyagulanyi alone daily.
Interviewed, one security official said they deploy not less than 300 security personnel at Kyagulanyi’s rally venues. The candidate holds three rallies every day in different districts. Interviewed on December 28, Muhammad Nsubuga, the Masaka regional police spokesman, said, “The deployment depends on the amount of threat based on the intelligence information at our disposal.”
He further said that much as special operations attract an allowance, the cops will not get an extra buck. Police spokesman Fred Enanga did not respond to our phone calls but in an earlier interview with The Observer said; “We don’t come up with costing of the logistical resources that support our policing and enforcement of political campaigns because we have existing manpower and logistical resources.”
“...fuel is given to territorial and zonal commanders, which they use for movement of their personnel. How they use resources like teargas and other impact weapons is at their discretion but sometimes they are guided by management.”