A team drawn from different security agencies have been assigned to investigate the killing of a high ranking Ugandan judicial officer last week. However, not solving this murder would intensify the risk to the country, according to police chief Kale Kayihura. 

The killing of Joan Kagezi, Assistant Director of Public Prosecution, is the latest in a long list of other murders. These have mostly involved top Muslim clerics, businessmen and lately a growing number of police officers; all of the killings have been carried out in nearly similar fashion.  

The police have appeared at their wit’s end to solve the murders. This has continued to drive up fear and tension particularly within sections of the public such as the business community, whom Gen Kayihura sought to reassure on Wednesday, April 1. 

“We must work hard to see that these killers are found and prosecuted,” Mr Kayihura reportedly told a meeting of business people who had convened at Protea Hotel in Kampala. “However, we are confident that we shall get those who participated in the murder. We recently recovered about seven guns and arrested 30 suspected criminals in the Busoga region,” he added.

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The police are not reporting much progress in their investigations into Ms Kagezi’s murder, one week after it happened, although they say they have picked up reliable clues that, they hope, will guide them to the “culprits” soon. 

There is no explanation of why the ballistics report of spent cartridges recovered from the scene is not yet complete. The analysis could reveal vital information regarding the type and source of bullets, the gun used and where it may have come from. 

But officials say that, based on the post-mortem report, statements recorded so far and information gathered, it is clear that the crime was carefully planned and executed by skilled killers who are likely to be part of an organised crime network. 

“The deceased was handling cases of violent crime and we are following all the leads available to get the culprits,” said Polly Namaye, the police deputy spokesperson.

However, analysts claim there are fundamental flaws in the country’s method of policing that explain not just Ms Kagezi’s case but the growing insecurity across the country, where rampant killings are becoming commonplace.  

Community policing

At the heart of its much vaunted community policing — touted as proactive with an emphasise on crime prevention rather than crime suppression — is an amorphous network of so-called crime preventers who have been accused of doing more to facilitate crime instead.  

The two people who shot Ms Kagezi at close range reportedly rode up to her car on a motorcycle — commonly known as a boda boda. 

Boda bodas are one of the main forms of public transport in Uganda. They are also commonly used by crime preventers, some of whom ride them as their full-time job. 

The police have mainly relied on these riders for political policing, which has focused on breaking up opposition rallies and gatherings. 

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By focusing on politics, analysts say the police have tended to ignore other aspects of crime intelligence, which has created room for assassination gangs and insecurity to thrive and spread across the country.

But even worse, the police have consistently appeared reluctant to rein them in, which could have been interpreted as licence for the riders to do as they wish. 

A telling decision is when, two years ago, police blocked city authorities from registering all riders within their jurisdiction, citing the need to first sensitise them. In fact, it feared these networks could be disrupted. 

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Amid renewed demands, especially following Ms Kagezi’s death, to regulate them or ban them outright, Gen Kayihura said it would be impossible given the widespread unemployment rates. 

“We cannot ban boda bodas because they have helped create employment,” he told the business community. 

According to MP Muwanga Kivumbi, community policing has become heavily politicised, making it ineffective in improving the security situation in the country.  

“How do you recruit crime preventers? Who seconds them? How are they trained? Who do they report to? How are they paid, for what and by whom?” asked Mr Kivumbi, a shadow minister for internal affairs. 

“The command structure of the police is hugely corrupt, which constrains it from responding effectively to the challenges before it. We have an investigative agency that has failed to produce even one impeccable report into the crimes that have happened recently. We have a police force that is quick to point a finger from the get-go, even when they have not gathered any information. This raises the question: How professional is the country’s security apparatus?” asked Mr Kivumbi. 

The current police force has the most resources in terms of personnel and funding. It commands an allocation of Ush395.2 billion ($136.1 million) in the current budget.

Gen Kayihura’s critics fault the Inspector General of Police for using a significant chunk of the resources to buy heavy-duty anti-riot equipment, as well as foot allowances for anti-riot informants — at the expense of normal policing.