Mao: President Museveni is the chief "decampaigner" of the police

The Democratic Party President and Chairman of the Inter party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) Norbert Mao has said President Museveni is the chief decampaigner of the Uganda Police Force which has led to decreased public confidence in the force.

Speaking during the NBS Frontline last night, Mao said the police report was just an attempt by the force to polish its name.

He said that the decrease in crime as reported in the Police Report of 2018 only indicates reduced public trust as people don't report crimes.

" Let's talk about public perception of crime. Generally the perception right now, thanks to the campaign by Museveni to demonise the police, is that police is full of crooks. The President has been the chief decampaigner of the Police and thanks to that effort, people think police is full of crooks, they think police has been infiltrated and there is evidence," Mao said in part.

He said that police has since shifted from its main responsibility of serving and protecting Ugandans to protecting the incumbent's interests to keep him in power adding that he has also tried to report crimes but they at many times disappear in thin air.

"The face of police right now is not to keep law and order but rather to keep the incumbent in power. I believe that this report is also indicating that people have lost confidence i n police, people are not reporting crime and there is reduced confidence." He added.

Salaamu Musumba, the FDC vice president for Eastern Uganda said that she doesn't agree with the police report as well since it doesn't represent what happens in the country. She said that this is just a political report to tell Ugandans that all is well.

"Where I live, there is crime everyday. Do you (police) have a baseline to talk about more or less crime pattern. I don't agree that the report is true, it doesn't reflect what happens in the country everyday.

This is apolitical report to tell Ugandans that all is well, what has improved about police brutality in this country? I don't agree with the statistics and I think it's a disservice to the people in the country," Musumba said.

Government spokesperson, Ofwono Opondo, said that the police has to be applauded for this report noting that the public has always criticised the force for not issuing crime reports.

"Whatever inadequacies, we must applaud the police for releasing this report. One of the most distressing things in this police report is that a big number of homicide cases took place in homes, a family environment which is supposed to be secure. From the report, we can see that there is increasing public trust in the police and that is good beginning point," Opondo said.

In his response, police spokesperson, Fred Enanga, said that the crime report helps them to know where policies are supposed to be reinforced and that such a report is the best way to capture the status of crime in the country.

He urged political leaders not to politicise every police effort but rather come up with options for them that they can use to ensure a proper service to the country.

The annual police crime report for the year 2018 was released on Monday 27th, May 2019, at the Police headquarters in Naguru. It showed that a total of 190 people were killed using guns all over the country.