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Uganda: We Cannot Substitute Corruption for Welfare
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The Monitor (Kampala)
OPINION
16 May 2008
Posted to the web 15 May 2008
Asp Judith Nabakooba
Had members of the Uganda Police Force not been strong enough, many would have broken down and wept at the wave of public sympathy that greeted the red-handed capture of some of our own uniformed bad eggs in illicit actions.
I am addressing the hullabaloo that greeted the widely publicised event in which cops accused of taking bribes were nabbed in an operation by the recently commissioned Professional Standards Unit. The PSU is Inspector General Kale Kayihura's response to public outcry against corruption within the police.
The public reaction was a strident defence of the suspected cops, with many saying their remuneration was too low and too irregular, thus justifying corruption. Failing to reconcile the contradiction of how a poorly paid constable could be found with huge cash in concealment, they postulated that the cash was from donations by sympathetic relatives who find them starving on the beat. Hmm!
This is not an attempt to prove our uniformed brethren guilty. I want to show that this attitude will not help us evolve into the force you all cherish. It is apparent that sections of the public would have been happier to see the IGP among the suspects to show the crackdown is real. The public out there imagine that all senior police commanders are corrupt, but you never mention them or even their alleged offences.
The IGP himself is willing to face the music if you adduce evidence implicating him in corruption. Coming from that high, the PSU will obviously not spare any of us found tainted with crime. Send your information on any cop, irrespective of rank to telephone number 0800200019, 0772576099.
The public should know the police is not composed of angels. However, as in all other professions, the lower ranks are those most accessible to the ordinary people.
The recent police crackdown on traffic offenders followed a public outcry that we were taking bribes. Immediately we showed our determination to desist, many complained that police were following the law "too vigilantly!"
You complain that CID officers don't grant police bond without payment, yet everybody knows that bond is free. Is there anyone who has been interrogated by CID boss Okoth Ochola and has been bonded for cash? A crackdown on bribe-takers in the CID would mostly net case officers than directors. I cite Traffic and CID departments because these are more frequently in direct contact with the people.
Our intelligence shows traffic offenders do not pay bribes directly but deposit the money with third parties, usually vendors. The cops later collect the bribes from these vendors and none seems the wiser.
Past surveys by the IGG had shown police as the most corrupt institution. But this year we did not take the dubious 'honour' thanks to PSU's vigilance. Even the Diplomatic Community this week saluted our anti-corruption efforts. However, our masters who are the taxpayers are doing plenty to demoralise us.
The only way to end bribery is by living in harmony with the law. Period. The public should know that crime is crime irrespective of the status of the offender. It is saddening that some people described the operation as a publicity stunt. But even assuming it was, the publicity was about police putting its own house in order.
The problems of force welfare are known to the highest authorities. However, it cannot be the excuse for taking bribes. If you want an efficient police force, don't offer corruption as the solution for our welfare problems.
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The writer is the police PRO
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