By Nelly Nelsons Otto
THE police leadership has held meetings with key stakeholders in Jinja City and District following the escalating wave of insecurity in and around the city especially in the areas of Wanyama Road, Budumbuli, Nakanyonyi, Bwekula, and Mafubira, among others in Bugembe Town Council, and Wairaka, Wanyange and Kakira Town Council.
The meeting chaired by Maj Gen Geoffrey Tumusiime, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) was held at the Jinja City based Uganda Civil Service College today Friday 14 July, 2023.
Tumusiime first held a closed door meeting with his top police officers from the Busoga Territorial region for about four hours as they exclusively (without any civilian) brainstormed on a number of factors behind the reported wave of crime whether it’s out of control or exaggerated but manageable.
It’s understood that the police chief and his team did not want a katogo-kind of engagement with some civic and political leaders, some who are fond of politicizing every issue and giving unfiltered information.
“…we wanted to analyze issues using the security (police) lenses as opposed to being deviated by some of these fellows who are pursuing their personal selfish agenda,” a source said on condition of anonymity.
It should be recalled that the Presidency Minister Milly Babirye Babalanda (MBB) recently wrote a distress letter to multiple security and judiciary agencies highlighting the worrying state of security in the second biggest city.
In the letter addressed to the ministers of Security, Internal Affairs, the Directors ISO and CMI as well as the Principal Judge and the DPP, among others, the workaholic Babalanda who hails from the region, asked her counterparts to urgently rush to Jinja.
As if obeying the principle of team spirit, Tumusiime chose to conclude the week with an early morning rush to Jinja where he had his breakfast before diving into a series of engagements to try to find out the true picture of what’s on the ground.
He was welcomed to Jinja by the Kiira RPC ACP Richard Okullo and his team at the Bell Avenue West regional offices where he inspected an honor guard organized by the cops as a common practice in the security.
During lunch break, Tumusiime, known as a very media-friendly UPDF officer now in the police uniform, briefed about 10 journalists on his mission in Jinja.
Asked on excuses being advanced by some sections of the population that the crime rates are as a result of unemployment and poverty in the region, Tumusiime laughed it off as inexcusable.
“…while we work closely with other stakeholders, our duty as the police is to fight crime, and so suspects can argue or defend themselves before the courts of law why they engage in criminal activities…,”he said.
The two- star general also confessed to the allegations that there are some rogue security personnel including the police conniving with wrong elements (though no such in Jinja) but quickly says there are mechanisms of handling them.
The DAIGP later interacted with other stakeholders including the army, RDCs and RCCs as well as representatives from the Judiciary, the DPP, among others who unanimously agreed that there were security issues that must be handled under an interdisciplinary approach.
The mood was generally happy because most of the police officers promoted were seen happily in their new ranks and wanted everyone to notice their new outlook.
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