By Mulengera Reporters
When Okoth Ochora replaced Gen Kayihura as IGP, there was optimism crime would diminish and by failing on that parameter, former Police spokesman Simeo Nsubuga (now MP Kasanda South) says Ochora has let down Ugandans and more so the President.
Simeo says CDF David Muhoozi and ISO boss Frank Kaka Bagyenda are equally culpable. The former police publicist expressed his views this Saturday morning while appearing on Dunstan Busulwa’s weekend premier talk show (Negwozadde) on Top Radio.
He had been invited to discuss the President’s State of the Nation address and appeared along with Nakaseke MP Lutamaguzi Semakula and FDC publicist John Kikonyogo.
Simeo said he was comfortable discussing security and the quality of policing in the last one year since that is an area he clearly understands having been an excellent policeman before. The vertically-challenged Mubende politician, who is expected to join cabinet in the upcoming reshuffle, claimed the President has done his part to stamp out crime only to be let down by his lieutenants like Okoth Ochora.
“The President as CiC has done his part including lobbying Parliament to pass all the money the security chiefs require to secure Ugandans and their property only to be let down by the security chiefs. We passed a lot of money in Parliament for them to buy very sophisticated CCTV cameras to tame urban crime. But then how do criminals besiege Nansana and make it a no-go-zone for close to an hour? They steal large sums of money and even kill our people in broad day light yet within vicinity is an entire police station. Do we really have police anymore? Someone must be embarrassed and instead of faulting the President, the IGP is the right person Ugandans should be angry against,” Simeo said.
“Nansana has cameras and I reject that excuse that a large truck parked and obstructed them that day. The criminals came riding on motorcycles; then where is the footage captured when still at some distance before coming close to the large truck which obstructed the cameras? We aren’t accepting this lame excuse as Ugandans and the security agency heads must produce the criminals who killed our people. We gave them a lot of money and they must account for the lives that have been lost.”
Simeo said he has been attacked by many people even in his constituency who say everything is okay and they are happy with Museveni’s leadership but they want assurances on security. “I have many youths who say ‘we have no problem with government. We support you people and NRM all we need is security of person and property to be able to do our businesses because we aren’t in politics.’ I have nothing to tell them and this Nansana robbery will have far reaching effects for many other things. Look at it this way; that hardware is the largest business between Nansana and Hoima. Traders from townships along that stretch all buy stuff from there for resale in their towns and they are all now feeling very insecure. They are saying if it can happen in Nansana with so many people and near Kampala, how safe are we? They are rightly demanding answers.”
Simeo says if Ochora, Muhoozi and Kaka have failed they should be modest enough and tell the country as much so that the President can justifiably call back the likes of Elly Kayanja to reconstitute operation Wembley. “I was very active in the mid 2000s in Kampala policing and I can tell you those were very good years and we hardly recorded any petty thefts of even phones on the city streets because of the impact Wembley had on would-be wrongdoers. The earlier they own up the better so that the Kayanjas are called back and good enough they aren’t dead. They are still alive, energetic and capable of pacifying our city once again,” Simeo said adding that the scare effect the Nansana murders are creating could even affect tax collection as scared traders are likely to decide to abandon business and go underground protesting the state’s failure to protect them. (For comments, email us at mulengera2040@gmail.com).
