Opposition’s outfit to counter Kiboko squad?

News

Written by Peter Muwonge Friday, 30 July 2010 07:40

One Member of Parliament stunned his colleagues this week when he said opposition politicians are planning to establish their own security organization which he said will give them protection from the brutal force of the Kiboko squad.

Hassan Fungaroo, Obongi County MP told the Parliamentary Committee on Internal Affairs on which he's a member that there is a secret plan to form a force that will allegedly manage security affairs for opposition politicians.

Fungaroo said: "We are going to form a legitimate Kiboko squad for purposes of protecting us the opposition politicians. It will be explained to you at the right time when it comes."

But the MP's utterances not only caused shock to some, they caused drama as well when the committee's chair Saley Kamba demanded that Makindye West MP Hussein Kyanjo, who is also the shadow minister for internal affairs, withdraws the statement on Fungaroo's behalf.

Kyanjo rubbished Kamba's directive by saying the chairman was only using Fungaroo's statement as a roadside issue' to help Internal Affairs Minister Matia Kasaija circumvent the task of explaining the case of police personnel donning military uniforms as Kyanjo had earlier reported to the committee .

Not even Kasaija's threat to handle the matter over to Police forced Fungaro to retract his statement.

Kasaija said: "This is no laughing matter and I challenge the member to show me a provision in the Constitution for a legitimate force manned by the opposition. I demand that the honorable member withdraws the statement or else we hand it over to our respective organs in the ministry."

Having been ignored by Kyanjo, Kamba turned the guns to Fungaroo to force him to withdraw the statement himself. Fungaroo obliged but insisted he would retract the statement only for the convenience of the committee's proceedings but firmly maintaining that the plan for the counter kiboko squad would continue unabated nonetheless!

"Only for purposes of continuing with this discussion here on this table do I withdraw the statement but the plan [for a counter Kiboko squad] remains," Fungaro insisted.

The bitter exchange started when members of the committee accused the internal affairs minister for introducing multi-colored police uniforms that resemble military fatigue without informing the public through the Parliament.

The fracas appeared to have been caused by Kasaija's statement that the recent terrorist bombings in Kampala in which some 76 people perished, were enough justification for any government to take any such changes in its security without prior approval from Parliament.

"What would happen if members of the public apprehended police officers whom they don't understand simply because they are dressed in a manner not familiar to them," Kyanjo asked.

The out-spoken president of JEEMA also accused the committee for failing the task assigned to it to investigate the Kiboko squad and reaching a logical conclusion about the matter recently.

Fungaroo also warned about the numerous police uniforms in the country at the moment when he said that wrong elements in our country can capitalize on the apparent confusion to dress in any un-gazzetted attire to make the security situation even worse.

To stress his point, Fungaroo cited the infamous Kibooko squad which he said is still a mystery to Ugandans even though they allegedly emanated from the premises of the Central Police station.

The heated exchange happened as technocrats from the ministry of internal affairs were defending their ministry's budget. The ministry officials were asking the committee for the re-allocation of the funds to cater for the National Identity Cards Project estimated to cost Ushs 31.5bn.

They said the money was needed to operationalize the project which has become a major talking point especially since the 7/11 bombings in Kampala. The MPs refused to pass the budget until the ID project is fast-tracked.