Kenedy Katabazi: A police officer championing the rights of the deaf

At the Police weekly press briefings at Naguru, one officer stands out as he is seen teaching a couple of journalists how to use sign languages before the briefings begin.

This does not end here, as the same “gospel” is “spread” on twitter as the officer who has become a darling of the social media platform among many of his followers always makes them fascinated by his teachings.

Fast forward, the eagle-eyed viewers might have noticed a figure gesturing as news stories from police press conferences air on various TV stations.

This is Kenedy Katabazi, whose job gives Ugandans, a brief glimpse of a job that is largely invisible in our society.

“I joined police in 2007 as a Probational Police Constable before I was transferred to the Filed Force Unit(FFU) and later the Very Important Persons Protection Unit(VIPPU) where I served for 12 years but later picked interest in sign language after realizing the gap in accessing justice by persons with disability, especially the deaf,”Katabazi says as he begins his story.

He says that while serving in the different units, he on several occasions had come a cross deaf persons coming to police to report cases but there were challenges of communication with police officers.

In the end, many of the victims went without being assisted due to the communication barriers.

To Katabazi, something had to be done to change the status quo, and it had to start with him.

“After realizing the hardship both police and the deaf went through as they tried to communicate to each other, I picked interest and started interacting with some deaf people and organisations working with people with disabilities. I also realized that even in police as an institution, we have some gaps in terms of personnel who understand sign language,” the 40-year-old born of Ntungamo says.

He says that whereas some officers had been trained by police in sign language interpretation, barely none had been deployed as a sign language interpreter which meant resources spent on training them had almost gone to waste.

“I picked interest and started learning. I then got a certificate in sign language from the Uganda National Association of the Deaf in 2014. Later I applied at Kyambogo University as a private student but after admission, the Police leadership offered to sponsor my studies,” he adds.

In 2018, Katabazi graduated with Diploma in sign language interpretation from Kyambogo University and was ready to put into practice what he had learn.

Deployment

Immediately after completing the course, he hit the road running after the police leadership deemed it fit and deployed wherever they realized demands from interpreting for the deaf.

Here, Katabazi excelled as visible results could be seen by his bosses.

“I was deployed in the sexual and children related offences department to help deaf people who have a number of family issues including children who are sexually abused among others. When I was deployed there, the number of cases reported increased after deaf people realized there was someone who could understand and interpret their language. I became a consultant as many deaf people could come to seek advice from me,” he says.

Covid sets in

When the Coronavirus pandemic set in, Police always held several press conferences to communicate to the public the security measures set to control the spread of the virus.

Whereas the deaf are some of the people who were targeted by the security information, there was no one to interpret for them what was always being said at the police press briefings.

Having already made a name as a sign language interpreter, Katabazi came in handy and the police leadership deployed him strategically at the press briefings.

“It was an outcry by the deaf and since the police leaves no one behind in everything it does, the police authority decided that every information we send out to the public, the deaf should also become beneficiaries. They said, every security press briefing I had to attend and interpret for the deaf.”

Consequently, Katabazi became a key figure during the press briefings as he made gestures made to interpret for the deaf.

As they say, the rest is history.

Champion of deaf rights

Consequently, Katabazi joined social media, and specifically Twitter where he fascinates his followers by his sign language teachings.

“I joined social media to see what is happening but also to send out messages to create awareness to the public about sign language and for people to know that deaf people are part of society and need to included in everything we do.I do it as a form of advocacy to change the attitude of people about the deaf,” he says.

The police officer says that many members of the society have a negative attitude towards people with disability, including the deaf, a stereotype he wants to change by his social media teachings and interactions with the public.

“In fact, some people first see a disability before recognizing a person. This is what I want to change. I realized that since I have this special skill and can use this platform, many people can benefit.”

Katabazi also says he uses his social media platforms to make sure members of the public know that the police services are inclusive to every person in the society, including those with disability.

He says by using social media, he reaches out to a big number of people but also teach them to understand sign language.

Advice

Katabazi however advises that authorities should treat all people, including those with disability equally.

“Let them(authorities) assess their communication and mobility needs and include them in all services. Some of the deaf are not aware of their rights. It is upon authorities to change this and make them aware of their rights.”