First Lady Janet and I visited the family of slain Assistant Inspector General of Police Andrew Felix Kaweesi at Kulambiro, Nakawa, Kampala.
Addressing mourners, I delivered messages to three specific groups of people.
The first are the criminals. We defeated Kony, we defeated the armed cattle rustlers in Karamoja, we defeated the ADF in the Rwenzori, we defeated the ADF bombings in Kampala. We shall defeat these criminals.
Now these criminals have shifted to methods of using motorcycles. They are doing this because the boda bodas are many and they think they can hide.
We have arrested some of these criminals and others are still at large. I want to tell these criminals that we shall get you. We shall kill you or capture you. But if they don’t want to die, let them surrender.
I want to assure Ugandans that this is a cowardly crude act that we shall defeat. These criminals are going to die because they’re killing our people, young people who we are using to build institutions.
The second groupare the public servants. I have had a hard time explaining our priorities as a country to this fraction of the population because their commitment is to themselves alone.
Projects like the installation of security cameras on roads have been stalling because of misplaced priorities into salary increments and such.
As a result we now have idiots getting away with murder and instilling unnecessary fear in our people. This is putting undue pressure on our security agencies who are working under very strenuous circumstances in cases like these. This must stop.
The third group is the Police and other security agencies. There is a growing concern of infiltration in these organs. Stories of leaking information, intimidating and even sometimes killing witnesses are coming to me.
This is undermining our strong relations with the wanainchi who now don’t want to work with our security organs. I would like to caution that you young people in these agencies are letting yourselves down.
We have created opportunities for you to manage this country and you are just playing. For example with all the ISO operatives across the country in all the various levels, district, regional, parish, how is it that schools have ghost students, no medicine in health facilities and other such cases yet government spends money on them?
I am beginning to find some of these offices redundant and action will be taken if you don’t clean up your conduct.
Finally, I would like to give my sympathies to the families of Andrew Kaweesi, Kenneth Erau, and Godfrey Mambewa. As usual in these circumstances, we shall support these young families in honour of their fathers who have died on duty.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com