By Mulengera Reporters
Gen Christopher Ddamulira the AIGP who heads the Crime Intelligence Directorate in the Uganda Police Force was on Monday one of key note speakers at the Baganda Nkoba Zambogo-organized leadership mentorship seminar that was held at Makerere’s CEDAT Conference Hall.
The organizers designated him to address hundreds of young people drawn from various Ugandan Universities under the topic “Electoral Security & duty of youths in preventing electoral violence.”
Other speakers were veteran Born Again leader bishop Joshua Lwere and the IGG Lady Justice Aisha Naluzze Batala whose topics were “Peaceful co-existence, national unity & moral duty of youths in the electoral process” and “The role of the youths in upholding national values and advancing accountability” respectively.
In his well-structured speech, a larger part of which he insisted to deliver in Luganda insisting that this was necessary to depict his identity as a Muganda, Gen Ddamulira called on the young people to resist manipulation and being used by political detractors who are out to achieve personal selfish goals while deriving personal gain and demonizing the country in the eyes of foreign powers.
Having run through the history of political and a bit of electoral violence in Uganda, Ddamulira castigated such detractors (who he was cautious not to disclose by name) for duping Boda riders with Shs10,000 worth of fuel while requiring them to be part of their campaign trail for a whole day. He asserted that this same Boda rider can make his more than Shs100,000 on a good day.
He said there was nothing wrong with young people being assertive and demanding for a better-governed country for as long as they remain peaceful and law-abiding. He demonstrated how it’s possible to politically disagree with the government of the day without being violent and without engaging in commission of electoral crimes.
He warned that whereas the young people can be in a group when committing such crimes, the consequences, criminal liability and the resultant accountability is personal. He illustrated this by disclosing that these days Police introduced a system whereby finger prints of every person who gets arrested are taken off in order to open up an electronically available file profiling one’s criminal record. He said that way, there is no way that information will ever go away the moment one gets arrested while participating in riotous conduct.
Ddamulira explained that much as such protestors can eventually get released either on police bond or bail by Court, their criminal record remains intact yet a growing number of companies and other potential employers these days’ demand for Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) as part of the vetting process for young people seeking employment at their premises, as part of the recruitment process.
Naturally, one’s PCC will contain information indicating he or she was previously charged with a criminal offence, details of which will equally be disclosed. This, Ddamulira revealed, will diminish one’s chances at getting recruited to their dream job.
The AIGP also made reference to the fact that those seeking to travel abroad either for work or for further studies, upon landing say a scholarship, are equally required to produce the Interpol certificate of good conduct. Still, while issuing it upon payment of the statutory fees, the applicant’s criminal record will have to be disclosed indicating involvement in criminal activities before. It’s very likely that one’s visa application or application for a scholarship will be declined the moment it’s disclosed in the Interpol certificate that the applicant previously acted criminally.
To avoid all those dream-killing inconveniences, Gen Ddamulira advised the hundreds of Baganda Nkoba Zambogo leaders who were in the audience to tread carefully lest they get caught up in commission in political crimes which he said opportunistic political leaders will be desperate to recruit them into to score political points as the country counts down to Thursday 15th January elections.
A proud Muganda from the Lugave clan whose theme he proudly rehearsed for his audience, Ddamulira implored Baganda Nkoba Zambogo members and leaders to realize that it would be shameful for them to engage in any form of political violence because Ugandans in other parts of the country know that Kabaka’s region is full of decent civilized people and are always expecting much better. The General also warned the youths to shun politicians who seek to recruit them into what he called ‘identity politics,’ which he said can only be manipulative while serving the selfish interests of such political actors, to the detriment of the young people themselves.
He also demonstrated why a peaceful Uganda is good for everyone and not just the leaders holding political and decision-making offices. He spoke about economic prosperity to which every Ugandan youth is entitled to benefit from yet the same becomes impossible to achieve the moment political violence prevails.
He said because they are going to live in Uganda longer, the young people should be more interested in Uganda’s future success, sustainability and prosperity because it’s the only place they can rightly call home. He made reference to the fact that he did one of his master’s degrees in UK and another in the US and said, having stayed in those two countries for such a long time, he came to the conclusion that no place can ever be better than home.
He also warned against abusive use of social media platforms, saying the resultant demonization and harming of Uganda’s image and reputation abroad hurts all Ugandans, as fewer tourists and investors come to create jobs for the young people, and not just the President, his cabinet members and other government officials. Ddamulira said that, much as he has people who keep telling him about what is there, he personally took a decision to keep away from YouTube and Tik Tok because there is a lot of negativity which he deliberately keeps way from. He castigated Ugandan youths who leverage social media platforms to engage in hate speech, propagation of fake news and deliberate demonization of others while falsely claiming to be engaging in legitimate political commentary.
He also called on the youths to avoid being in wrong places at the wrong time because they can easily be caught up in riotous situations and end up being arrested and prosecuted yet they might have been innocent-only happening to be in the wrong place. He gave the example of a friend whose two sons overstayed at the salon over the weekend long after cutting their hair, in one of the city surburbs. Then all of a sudden violent political activists, at a nearby place provoked security agents who were patrolling and then ran to hide in the same salon where the two young men were seated.
The security agents, who came chasing those who had pelted them with stones came and sealed off the salon and indiscriminately arrested and carried away everybody as they prepared to charge them with riotous conduct. On getting a phone call from their parents, Gen Ddamulira intervened and secured the release of the two innocent young men who otherwise would have ended up rotting in jail. Ddamulira implored youth leaders in his audience to act vigilantly in the coming days by ensuring that they strictly keep in safe places and avoid being in wrong places at the wrong time.
During the plenary discussion, the Zambogo leaders asked Ddamulira about EC’s insistence that whoever finishes voting should leave the polling station and return home. Gen Ddamulira referred to the guidance that was recently given by the Attorney General Kiwanuka Kiryowa while responding to MPs’ concerns during a plenary session of Parliament, saying what he said remains their position as Police because he is the chief legal advisor of government. On the recent attack on the BBS TV reporter by uniformed members of the security forces in Sebei sub region as he covered Robert Kyagulanyi’s rally, Gen Ddamulira said this was regrettable adding that disciplinary proceedings had been commenced on the individual officers except that public interest and media attention wanes days after the incident.
Ddamulira also called on the Baganda youths leaders in his audience to be proud of the fact that their native region is home to more than 6m voters the legitimacy of whose vote he said diminishes the moment the electoral process is characterized by violence. He also explained why security forces more immediately react to any incidences of electoral political violence in Buganda and more so the Greater Kampala Metropolitan area than they respond to such disruptions in remote parts of the country.
He said the excessive media focus on political events in Buganda makes it prudent for security agencies to immediately respond unlike what would have been the case if such violent scenes erupted in remote districts very far away from the Capital. He said because their Wakiso and Kampala districts are the centers of more than 60% of economic activities in Uganda, Baganda youths must jealously aid security agencies in guarding and preserving the peace and political stability around the Capital because this is their home.
He said key public infrastructure supporting and sustaining all that economic prosperity around the Kampala Metropolitan Area must be jealously guarded by all young people because their native region’s economic prosperity and prestige evaporates the moment riotous political instability erupts and everything gets destroyed or burnt down. As he delivered his speech, Gen Ddamulira repeatedly made reference to the latest UBOS statistics to effectively illustrate his point as he addressed hundreds of the young people who turned up for the Monday Seminar which lasted half day.
Appreciative of the very enriching lecture the down-to-earth senior army officer gave (while quoting the President’s recent call in Iganga upon all leaders to be humble and full of humility), the young people in the audience unanimously gave a standing ovation and stood up in honor at the conclusion of Gen Ddamulira’s presentation. Organizers demanded for a copy of his scripted presentation for replication for the benefit of those who didn’t come.
There was near stampede as young people took turns taking selfies with Gen Ddamulira as he left the Conference Hall and moved towards his vehicle. Many asked for his phone number, which he freely shared while declaring readiness to avail himself for future mentorship engagements under the auspices of Baganda Nkoba Zambogo. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
