A top official of the Uganda Police Force has urged the public to embrace community policing to control the rising incidents of crime in the country.
Hilary Kulayigye, a member of the Uganda Police Political Commissariat, says the current Police personnel numbers cannot allow it to be in every corner of the country, which makes it necessary that ordinary citizens also play a part in security through community policing.
“International policing standards prescribe a Police and population ratio of 1:500, but for Uganda, we are at about 1:1,000. That means we cannot be everywhere. That is why we have to promote community policing,” Kulayigye said.
“If we are to be effective, we need partnerships with the community.
That is why every one of us needs to embrace community policing. As the Police, we cannot do much without your support,” he said, adding that in places where community policing has been embraced, incidents of crime have reduced by about 75%.
The community policing model in Uganda was inspired by Muyenga, a Kampala city suburb, where it was successfully piloted.
The model aims to create opportunities for positive and mutually respectful interactions between civilians and Police officers by providing mechanisms for increasing Police promptness for citizen redressal, reporting corruption and abuse of force, and encouraging citizens to comply with the Police.
Speaking of Muyenga, Kulayigye said: “They have now dealt with many of the problems that affect their community. You cannot go there and cause chaos. When you embrace community policing, the problem is half-solved. Let us take community policing seriously. It has worked in London and it can work here.”
Kulayigye made the remarks in Kampala while speaking at the NRM Ideological Clinics at the party’s headquarters at Kyadondo Road.
The clinics were launched last month with the purpose of causing interaction between NRM young supporters and party historicals, who have lived to witness NRM’s transformation and evolution from the 1960s to date.
Thursday’s event, which was the fourth since the clinics were introduced, was attended by, among others, the party’s secretary-general Richard Todwong, director of Patriotic Corps Patrick Mwesigye and Col Okei Rukogota, who represented Gen. Henry Matsiko, the Uganda People’s Defence Force Chief Political Commissar.
During the event, the clinic focused on security, with the audience hearing from a representative from the UPDF and the Uganda Police. Rukogota and Mwesigye represented the UPDF, while Kulayigye represented the Police.
“This clinic is one area where we are going to gain ideas from those who are ideologically clearer than us or those who have researched more and together we learn. I am happy to be part of this set-up,” Rukugota said.
Explaining the theme of the day, Todwong said: “We realised that as we celebrate the 59th anniversary of independence, the issue of security keeps coming up. When we talk of security, we only look at men in uniform as the guarantors of our security, but if you study deeper, you will realise anything that touches human life touches security. Issues to do with poverty, epidemics, even poor leadership, all those are subjects of security.”
Todwong urged the NRM leaders to always be exemplary to preserve the good name of the party.
“Be honest, make friends, be more knowledgeable. Read. Challenge yourself that every month I must read one book. That will help you to be more informed because when you start interacting with people, you must be more informed,” he said.
The NRM ideological classes started two weeks ago with the internal affairs minister, Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafi ire, addressing supporters on the party’s revolutionary methods of work.
“In unity, you have strength.
Revolutionaries need to work with people in order to be successful. That is why NRM is such a successful party till now. NRM is very tolerant. It has allowed the proliferation of divergent views from around the world. That is why we listen to criticisms, but we know how to criticise those that are wrong and misinformed,” Otafiire said during his ideological lecture at the party secretariat last week.
Col Fred Mwesigye has also addressed party supporters on party discipline, among other concepts.
