My parting shot: How did roadblocks become road toll collection points?

The announcement by President Yoweri Museveni to lock down the country, a ban on private and public transport except for a few, he says was informed by the fact that the country needed to manage COVID-19 and stop its spread.

For the few, who were allowed to move but on foot, were a target of security brutality. In the 3rd week of the lockdown, I remember covering a story of a female health worker from Kamwokya, who landed in the brutal hands of a Police officer during curfew hours and was clobbered as she rushed to work, to help a pregnant woman deliver a baby.

She sustained injuries around her ribs, even when she displayed her work identity card. She proceeded to her workplace anyway, and a baby was newly born that day.

She went through all this because she probably had no car. You’ll know what I mean as you read on. Those with cars moving beyond curfew hours sort of have a separate arrangement with Police and LDUs.

Whilst public and private transport was banned, a month into the lockdown, there was an increase in the number of cars on the road and we were all wondering what was going on. But apparently, these drivers had negotiated their way out.

Lockdown by this time had been felt in the Police officers’ pockets. Their needs – money, had become a priority and their duty had become secondary.

Roadblocks to only ensure essential workers proceed with work using private transport had become road toll collection points and their collaborators – the drivers had made this possible and easier, by use of cash.

Covid-19 has shone a bright light, at something we’ve ignored for a long time. The welfare of Police officers. While they were working 24/7 to during lockdown, what was dear to them, which is money to buy bread and food, became a priority and we should have seen that coming. 

In May, Uganda Police Force released 2.58 billion shillings for its personnel implementing the COVID-19 guidelines across the country. This, however, is a one-off payment, nothing permanent in their pockets every month. Actually, complaints were raised later, about a decline in the allowances going to these police officers.

The same way we’ve realized that scientists need a good wage pay for their services, security personnel too equally need that. Most times, low wages are affected by the quality of work by this security personnel and are made worse by the amount of overtime put in by police especially during these lockdown times. Should you then blame them for creating illegal road toll collections to supplement the weight of their pockets?

The author is a Ugandan investigative journalist with NBS TV, political radio show host, and a Léo Africa Young Emerging Leaders Program Fellow.

cmugume01@gmail.com