The chilling kidnap and murder of Ms. Susan
Magara has dented the faith of Ugandans in the security of this country. This crime
was at another level of syndication, a high level of crime in the developing
murder industry. The mystery of European "investors" dying in five-star
hotels in Kampala had hit a new peak to displace the mystery of the murder of
young women whose bodies were dumped in different bushes along the
Kampala-Entebbe corridor. That series of murder superseded the
assassination-type killings of Prosecutor Joan Magezi and AIGP, Felix Kaweesi.
The Kaweesi killing was somehow not very
surprising although the manner in which it was executed shocked the nation. It
was like an over-filling balloon of murders that inevitably burst with a prick.
There were murders, kidnaps and illegal detentions of businessmen and women
already going on. The Police was already engulfed in these murders with a
strong sense that Kaweesi was part of this criminality.
Before that, the unfettered killings of Muslim
clerics had demystified assassinations in Uganda. The general population had the impression that
guns had proliferated the society. These things come along in predictable
patterns like the hind legs of the cow follows the front. When crimes are
committed and the authorities down play it, obscure facts about it, and fails
to resolve it, that opens the door for more crimes. In fact, if the killers of
Susan Magara are not apprehended, we shall yet witness a higher level and some
more organized gruesome killings.
The series of shocking murders show how
criminals have usurped and pervaded this nation. Most frightening is the fact
that the Uganda police and a plethora of security organizations are literally
unable to avert crime. This may beckon citizens’ indulgence in their own
security.
The Magara murder affirms that the security people
prefer reactionary approaches to dealing with crimes. The explanation could be
that they are inextricably intertwined with these crimes, and some benefit from
these crimes individually. You see, suspects apprehended, remain suspects with
incomplete investigations to tie them to any of these crimes. Even then, many attests
that they operate on behalf of, or in association with the security people;
some are false suspects tortured into confession.
Ms Magara’s circumstances are certainly unique
given the monies and involvement of the person of the President in the matter.
She was privileged person in life and death. The criminals seem to have known
their target quite well. They were not petty criminals - they are professionals
who are well rehearsed and connected to the system. They were able to use
unregistered sim cards. How so?
The paradox to grapple with is that with all
these unresolved extra-judicial murders, it takes the Ugandan security operatives
no less than 20 minutes to quickly mobilise, deploy, and contain a peaceful
demonstration with precision.
More challenging is the choice of Kampala and
Wakiso as the crime-end-scene. This is fascinating because of the dense network
of security along the Kampala – Entebbe corridor. The security lapse raises
concerns that the security operatives are primary suspects or key enablers of these
crimes.
Unfortunately, some of the victims are so
ordinary that the Mr. Museveni thinks they are prostitutes and drunkards. Such unfortunate
considerations only demonstrate the nature of an incompetent and illegitimate
state that is distanced from the unadorned realities of its own people.
It is increasingly obvious that security
instrument of the state is organised and structured to protect the political
ambitions, wealth, and cronies of one person – Mr. Museveni.
Without guaranteeing the security for persons
and their properties, Ugandans in diaspora are advised against travelling to Uganda.
Soon, more investors, their children, school children, tourists, and rural to urban
migrants will become soft targets of kidnaps for ransom.
End
