UGANDA: IS GEN. LOKETCH BITING THE HAND THAT FEEDS HIM OR JUST 'RUNNING FASTER PAST HIS HOME'?

 

By CHANGE OF GUARDS

Uganda's military dictator's 35 years hold on power has been characterised by brutal repression of political dissent.  Arbitrary arrests, detention without trial (DWT) in both gazetted places, torture, detention in ungazeted places, dubbed Safe Houses, concocted charges against civilians before the military courts, raiding of civilian courts by armed commandos to reverse court decisions, raiding of the Parliamentary plenary by Presidential guards to influence debate, state orchestrated election violence, interference in the electoral process by security forces in favor of Museveni and arbitrary maiming and killings by security forces.  All these vices have been witnessed for over three decades in different parts of the country more especially in the northern, eastern and most recently in the Rwenzori regions.  They have been articulately  documented by civil society, local and international human rights organisations and condemned by the western world.  Parliament has also been helplessly outspoken over gross human rights abuses.

Currently the focus of the regime's brutally is on the central or Buganda region owing to the political challenge posed by the People Power movement and Presidential aspirant Bobi Wine in particular.  Museveni and his top managers of his security aparatus have made public their resolve to decisively "crash" the People Power and Bobi Wine. They have not simply stopped at issuing threats but have demonstrated their resolve.  Just a few weeks to the January polls 56 unarmed citizens were shot dead in Kampala within a state of 24 hours while hundreds sustained bullet wounds.  Museveni publicly said that that was just a rehearsal before vowing to defeat People Power using guerrilla tactics.  

Nonetheless, the crushing of Buganda is not just starting but it's only being intensified.  The Bulange, Mabira, Kayunga and Kasubi killings not forgetting the targeted killings of Muslim Clerics and women, Buganda has been the victim.  All those Safe Houses and other illegal detention facilities have always had 95% of their victims picked from the central region.  All the so-called armed robbers who are always arbitrarily shot dead are 99% Baganda.  What is only new is the use of Toyota Hiace dubbed Drones instead of the traditional Super Custom Minibuses that have always been used in kidnappings.   

Therefore, when Museveni opted to appoint Gen. Paul Loketch as Deputy Inspector General of Police on the eve of the polling day, he was not looking for someone to deal with the excesses of his security forces.  He simply wanted someone who would decisively crash the post election protests in the central region that had been so much anticipated.  He appointed someone who would take command of the enforcement of a state of emergency in the central region in the event the masses would have opted to protest.  His being designed as Deputy Inspector General of Police (D/IGP) was simply a cover but in actual fact he is the military coordinator of the military operations in Buganda. That is why Brig. Kayanja Muhanga whose record is very well documented with regard to arbitrary killings and dumping the dead bodies in the Kololo Golf Course when he was the head of JATT was planted on him as his Deputy In-charge of Kampala.

From the aforegoing, it is therefore very wrong for Gen. Loketch to deviate from collective responsibility and pretend to be hunting for those who are behind the kidnappings and forced disappearances of citizens.  One of his mandates is to provide a cover up for these atrocities but not to issue ultimatums;

         "I have instructed the Director of CID, the Director of Crime Intelligence to give me the list of anybody who has been arrested and in any of the cells of our security agencies.  I have also instructed that those people arrested and they feel they are a threat to security must be brought before the court of the law within 48 hours as stipulated by the law. "  Gen. Loketch told the press.  

Consequently, Parliment put to task the Minister of Internal Affairs Gen. Jeje Odong to explain the rampant kidnaps of citizens by security forces.  Two days later, he responded with a list of 13 that he acknowledged were being held by security forces but failed to account for another 31

        "A list of 31 people is yet to be traced but investigations continue.  I undertake to give progress about the ongoing investigations with time as they are being undertaken."

 It is now reported that Gen. Loketch is personally leading a team that is investigating the kidnaps and abductions and has so far netted 10 security operatives from the notorious JATT.  Since there is no way these operatives could kidnap their victims without institutional sanctioning, as usual, all will be done to protect the culprits.  However Gen. Loketch will be accused of seeking cheap popularity, publicity and above all acting out of excitement.  He will be reminded that he is the D/IGP for the whole country before being discouraged from focusing so much on Kampala and Buganda affairs.  Let him reflect on what befell the former DP Mohammed Kirumira,  Maj. Mutengesa and others who chose the path of professionalism instead of patronage.

Watch the Space!!!

INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENISM