President Yoweri Museveni, seems to defend the manner in which security operatives recently brutally arrested Yusuf Kawooya , saying the Democratic Party member attempted to bite the arresting officers.
The President’s remarks are contained in a letter he write on October 23rd, 2018 detailing the guidelines to be followed by all security agencies in dealing with riot incidents, political events as well as arrest of suspects.
In the letter addressed to both the Chief of Defence Forces and the Inspector General of Police, president Museveni says that the fundamental starting point is the NRA principle of being an army of the people, the masses (the farmers, the factory workers, the patriotic public servants and the Ugandans that are struggling to get a foothold in the emerging money economy) but also serving well the law-abiding foreigners that visit our country.
He however castigated Kawooya for biting one of the security operatives.
“The security person who was seen using a rifle butt may have made a mistake. When I inquired, the concerned people told me that the suspect had bitten him (okuruma),” Museveni’s letter read in part.
The Commander in Chief added: “That is very serious because some of the criminals have got infectious diseases. Our officer can be infected in that way and that should be an extra charge put on him. The appropriate response would have been to box him hard so that he stops biting our officer.”
Museveni further defended Kawooya brutal arrest stating, “That would be self-defence which is very legitimate. Hitting him with a rifle butt after he has stopped biting you, however, is both vengeance and also usurping the role of the punisher (the courts).”
