By The EastAfrican

More by this Author

In the evening of August 13, 2018, Yasin Kawuma, the driver of then Kyadondo East member of parliament Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine, was shot dead as he sat in a vehicle in Arua town. The bullet, which was aimed at the co-driver’s side on the left-hand drive vehicle appeared to have been meant for Bobi Wine, who was assumed to be in what the shooter believed to be the driver’s seat.

That grisly event would set off a charade that saw more than five-dozen supporters of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) rounded up and driven hundreds of kilometres away from Arua city, to detention in Gulu city.

Bobi Wine would also be arrested, taken into military custody, and subjected to physical torture before he was paraded before the military court martial on charges of illegal possession of a firearm. To date, Kawuma’s killing has never been resolved nor has the case against Bobi Wine or the FDC supporters been concluded.

Almost six years later, on September 3, history almost repeated itself, when Bobi Wine was hit by a projectile fired from a police gun.

Whatever it was, it resulted in a flesh wound in the lower part of Bobi’s left leg, culminating in his admission overnight at a city hospital.
This week’s violent attack on Bobi Wine, and many others before against peaceful protesters continue a tradition that exposes Uganda police’s excessive use of force in dealing with civil protests by unarmed civilians.

While the protesters must conduct their demonstrations within the law and the tenets of decency, their rights and freedoms need to be respected.

While the police have often argued that opposition protesters pose a threat to peace and the freedom of others, a review of these encounters shows that in many instances, the police are the instigators of the violence they blame on the opposition.

The credibility of the police and other security organs is further put into doubt, by the fact that they don’t punish similar behaviour by supporters of the ruling National Resistance Movement.

The current status quo and behaviour of the security forces shows two things. It is a throwback to the one-party era when any demonstration of opposition to a sitting regime, was seen as an affront to the state rather than policy or the party in power.

It also brings to the fore the dangers of politicisation and militarisation of the police as has happened in Uganda. The independence and professionalism of Uganda’s security forces has been compromised through a sustained infiltration by ruling party cadres.

Decency demands that opposition leaders including Bobi Wine should be treated with some decorum. They are national leaders and represent the fallback position in event of a crisis. They should not be treated like common criminals.

Unfortunately, the subservience of the security apparatus to political authority, even when it is in violation of the law, is a cancer that is stalling democratic evolution across East Africa.

Several people, mostly youth were either killed, injured or disappeared during the recent protests in Kenya. There has been no accountability within the system.

In Tanzania, police arrested opposition leaders and the Chadema youth league for attending a youth forum. This is a growing trend that should raise the alarm. East Africa cannot progress economically, without respect for political rights and freedoms.