The Deputy Resident District Commissioner Vincent Kamugisha has said that the Uganda Police Force has itself to blame for the level of insecurity in different parts of the country that appears to be getting out of hand.
During a press conference on security at his office in Mbarara town, the RDC said that the police was not entirely blameless in the recent spate of violence in the Rwenzori region where up to six civilians were shot dead by police and army officers, apparently in self defense.
Kamugisha went on to cite last Monday’s shooting in Kiruhura district in which two bodaboda cyclists were killed by a police officer in a scuffle, noting that all this pointed to weaknesses on the side of police.
The two were shot dead after an officer opened fire on a group of cyclists that had stormed a police post in Kanoni trading center, looking for a suspected criminal accused of stealing a motorcycle.
“How rational is opening fire on a group of unarmed people who are complaining about a criminal that you are trying to protect, when you have several other ways of containing such a mob?” wondered Kamugisha at the press conference.
“This is why people resort to mob justice, because they cannot trust you anymore. They people have lost trust in the police,” he added.
A combination of lack of professionalism and insufficient training of the police officers the RDC noted, was nowadays a major contributing factor to the country’s crime rate.
In his own Mbarara town, the commissioner pointed out the numerous cases where police has delayed to respond to emergencies, costing people their lives and property,”
More so, he added, police has been directly involved in hard core crimes, majorly armed robberies.
Some offices he said are in the practice of lending their guns to robbers and murderers in exchange for money.
While defending the shootings in Kasese over the weekend, the Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kaihura emphasized that killing in the police and armed forces has never been illegal, except when the right steps are not followed.
He noted that the Uganda Police Force has been re-energized and that officers would not hesitate to shoot and kill any criminals that threaten their lives.