When Coronavirus broke out in the world, all nations of the world went into panic mode! Advised by the World Health Organisation, countries instituted several measures to mitigate the spread of the virus. Some countries went as far as providing relief measures to their people to help provide a soft landing for the baggage that would come with the pandemic, most notably, hunger and starvation.
In Uganda, President Museveni instituted a full blown lockdown, bringing almost everything to a crushing halt. Schools, churches, entertainment, sports, bars, transport, everything was suspended. To epitomise everything, curfew was declared in all parts of the country to, according to the Fountain of Honour, cub crime that had been anticipated to be on the rise given that many people’s livelihoods had been affected with the suspension of places of work. The President eventually scientificised it saying his Scientists had told him that curfew would help mitigate the spread of the virus. The explanation he gave wasn’t very convincing, but it was very clear from that point the the horrible curfew had come to stay!
As we entered into the political season, many politicians developed arguments that curfew was designed for sinister motives to bar opposition politicians from gaining political mileage. Indeed, on several occasions, many of them ended up getting arrested as they made their way from political talk shows. One of those to fall victim was NUP Secretary General, David Lewis Rubongoya who was arrested as he left NBS TV’s Barometer. Betty Nambooze and others were also forced to spend the entirety of one night in the NBS TV studios after being alerted to the fact that the police had lain in wait to arrest them!
For the past six or seven months though, it has become explicit that curfew has been turned into an avenue for the police and LDU to extort money from the unsuspecting citizens! At Naakulabye where I stay, and in the neighbouring areas including Kasubi, Kawaala, Lubya, Munaku, Lugala, Masanafu and in the Capital itself, the LDUs and police officers have made the establishment a lucrative venture where they arrest bodabodas, extort money from them and let them go, without any charges levelled against them.
I fell victim of the same in January this year. I and about 20 others were arrested by LDUs, 5 minutes to 9:00 o’clock, about 300 metres to my home at Naakulabye. I tried to ask the cause of our arrest in vain. When it reached 9:00 o’clock, the designated curfew time, we were told that we had broken curfew rules! Appalling!!!! We pleaded in vain and we were then subjected to a rigorous pocket search! I’d just left the ABSA Bank ATM at Naakulabye where I’d withdrawn shillings 260, 000. When they landed on it, they took it! I tried to plead with them not to take my money; but I was silenced by a gunstock blow that landed on the right hand side of my lower abdomen that left me nursing nasty pains that have troubled me since. They kept us at Kiwuunya area up to around 10:00 pm and let us go! I approached their commander and demanded for my money. He called all his men and asked if they had seen my money and they denied vehemently! I pulled out the receipt I’d got from the ATM and showed it to him to substantiate my claim, but all in vain! I had nothing to do, but to wobble home disappointedly!
Up to now, I still don’t get it how the government should insist on something that has absolutely no logic at all! Why would a government that’s supposed to take care of its people be the one to come up with policies that are very damaging to them? Imagine how a mother who’s coming from town to fend for her family reaches home with nothing just because all she had got has been taken by security operatives in the name of enforcing presidential directives on COVID!
Mr President, sir, please help Ugandans and lift this mind-boggling curfew. It had outstayed it’s welcome! It lost meaning several months ago and has now been turned into an avenue by your armed men and women to steal money from Ugandans who are already bogged down by horrible economic effects of COVID-19! Stop it and let the citizens enjoy their country!
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