Brig Sabiiti says there is no problem with militarising the police

The newly appointed deputy Inspector General of Police, Brig Sabiiti Magyenyi Muzeyi has scoffed at critics for speaking ill about the militarisation of the police force.

A number of people especially opposition politicians have on a number of occasions blamed government for the militarisation of the police force.

Speaking during the pass out of 609 police officers who had completed a two month basic security management course for officers from Kampala Metropolitan Area, Brig Sabiiti said he always laughs at people who talk ill about police militarisation because they don’t know what they are talking of.

“I laugh when I hear people ask why the police is being militarised,”Brig Sabiiti said on Saturday afternoon.

“I don’t know the difference between police and the army. Even the Police Act says that the force should always be ready to perform functions of a military force.”

Activists have always complained that there is a plan to militarise police which they say puts the force in a position that allows them to freely violate human rights.

They cite the manner in which civil disobediences especially demonstrations by opposition politicians are handled by police using an iron hand characterized by violence and unlawful arrests.

Many condemned President Museveni for appointing Gen Kale Kayihura, a serving soldier, as the head of police in 2005.

Police has of recent undergone some training with the army.

However according to the new deputy IGP, this is only intended to prepare the police for worst case scenarios.

“We have terrorism and violent criminals in our amidst and the first line of fire is police.If you are targeting for the last policing environment, then you are irrelevant,” he said.

The police boss said that such refresher courses where from various departments are trained together will help equip officers with all the necessary skills and increase their efficiency in all fields.

“I pledge total support to such programmes as one of the ways of professionalizing the force,” he said.

The officers were trained in weapon handling, jungle and street fighting, martial arts, self defence, public order management, political ideology, community policing and decision making lessons.

According to Kampala Metropolitan Police Commander Frank Mwesigwa, such training will equip officers with skills as they do their day to day duties.

“We have on several occasions seen our officers shooting people dead mistakenly but with such courses, such things will be addressed,”Mwesigwa said.