Poor memory is to blame for fury over kidnaps and excitement over "cleaning of police" by CMI #Uganda

".........I do not agree with Rwakasisi that NASA was filled with learned men/graduates as he wants this court to believe. On the contrary, it was staffed with UPC functionaries who went and tortured the public as they wished.  I take judicial notice of the fact that during the Obote II regime the UPC supporters and functionaries including the army were almost above the law.  They committed atrocities against the population with impunity.  And no wonder, that seven people instead of being taken to the police and face some charges in court, they ended up in military barracks which was a place notorious for torturing people."

Page 68 of the court judgement by Justice Mukanza during the trial of Obote II Minister of Security, Chris Rwakasisi over kidnapping of the Mbarara famous seven who were killed at Kireka barracks in 1981.  Rwakasisi was convicted and sentenced to suffer death but Museveni pardoned him in 2009 and is not his Senior Presidential Advisor.

Gullible Ugandans are furious over the recent incident where plain clothed men brandishing pistols brutally kidnapped a citizen who had just been set free by a competent court of law.  Amidst helpless yelling for help from the equally helpless members of the public, the victim was bundled into a civilian registered saloon car and driven off. 

Despite video footages clearly showing a uniformed Traffic Police officer helping the thugs execute the kidnap, the police denied knowledge of the kidnappers.  The truth is that in such kidnappings the responsible agency formally notifies the friendly forces in the area of operation to avoid a clash. The army later claimed responsibility for the kidnap by asserting that it had been the work of its Joint Antiterrorism Taste Force (JATT). Therefore, the police was fully aware and that is why the Traffic Officer was duty bound to render a helping hand.

Therefore, the shameless denial by the police was simply because of the current bad blood between CMI and Police. A few days earlier, a similar ugly incident was witnessed in Mbarara town when pistol wielding plain clothed men kidnapped local members of the opposition in broad daylight before bundling them in the boot of a waiting civilian registered car and driving off.

When Museveni took over power in 1986 he adopted a northern Uganda dominated police force that he considered was hostile to his regime.  He relied on the army's Military Intelligence (DMI) for civilian policing.  Because at the time the top command and control of DMI was manned by sober minded individuals, the excesses were minimised.

When the DMI transformed into CMI in the late 1990s coupled by the loss of pretense over Museveni's life presidency scheme, under the cover of global fight against terrorism CMI proved to be the worst monster against political dissent.  Local and international human rights organisation clearly documented and highlighted CMI's excessive heinous crimes for over a decade.  It is only that Ugandans are either naturally forgetful or gullible. 

What about the hooded commando raid on the High Court in 2005 and 2007 to kidnap citizens who had been set free?  What about thousands who were kidnapped and killed in cold blood during Operation Wembley, northern and eastern Uganda insurgency and recently in the Rwenzori to mention but a few????

Like any other educated dictator, at the turn of the century Museveni moved to transform the once "hostile" police force into a regime enforcement branch against political dissent.  Thanks to his top regime cadre and political ideologist, Gen. Kalekyezi who has successfully accomplished this mission.  For successive years now, the police has excelled as the leading agency in human rights violation and will continue to do so with or without Gen. Kalekyezi at the top because the mission remains the same.  The only difference now is that kidnappings by unidentifiable armed thugs is re-emerging just because CMI is posturing to be carrying out civilian policing.  Unfortunately, gullible Ugandans are cheering on.

It is 36 years since the UPC II government allegedly went on rampage to terrorize Ugandans and 29 years since Justice Mukanza made the above remarks in a landmark trial over kidnapping by the then state agents.  Museveni and his NRA claimed to have been fighting against such excesses but 31 years now what has changed!!!!!!!!!!

There is no need for fury; kidnapping is as old as Museveni's search for the presidency 1971 - 1986 and retention of the same 1986 - 2017.  Most of the heinous crimes including kidnappings that were attributed to both the Iddi Amin and the Obote II regimes were to a big extent the work of the forces that were fighting them.  Museveni took a centre stage in such struggles. 

The other day while in Tanga at the launch of the Oil Pipeline project he boosted of having smuggled six guns through one of the border posts from Tanzania during his struggle against the Iddi Amin regime.  It is a fact that before the Tanzania led external armed attack of 1972 and late 1978, there had never been any combat engagements by any armed dissident group against the Iddi Amin security forces on the Uganda soil.

However, acts of mysterious kidnappings, forced disappearances and killings designed to tarnish the image of the Iddi Amin regime were rampant.  During his Bush War (1981 - 1986), it is not in dispute that his specialized squads would dress in government soldiers' uniform before committing heinous crimes against the unsuspecting public in order to tarnish the image of the Obote II regime. 

Actually, the star state witness in the above cited trial of Rwakasisi, a one Cpl. Katabazi who had been a soldier under the UNLA, was actively involved in the same kidnap and torture of the seven victims told court (page 205) that he had been secretly working for the guerrilla NRA.  The then District Commissioner of the insurgency infested Luwero Triangle, Nathan Karemanzira was kidnapped from his office in Luwero by the guerilla NRA and held hostage for almost a year.  He survived being killed simply because he was a Munyarwanda.  The unlucky local UPC functionaries and youth wingers in the Luwero Triangle just perished without trace.

The only new phenomena is the fact that the current kidnappers don't bother to hide their faces.  This could be because there is a high likelihood of hired foreigners or refugees being used by the regime.  That is why the Daily Monitor public appeal for anyone to identify these thugs is not yielding results.

CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY.

INFORMATION IS POWER AND DEFIANCE IS THE WAY TO GO

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