Let me start by congratulating you on your appointment in May by President Museveni as the new Inspector General of Uganda Police Force.  The law enforcement agency, no doubt, has countless men and women of probity, who are executing their mandate to protect life and property diligently.

Your elevation to steward the police demonstrates the Appointing Authority’s confidence in your ability to make law and order keeping in the country better and people and result oriented. Crime can only be fought if mandated state institutions work with, and listen to, voices of ordinary Ugandans. Why? 

First, citizens see and know more about what happens in their midst than security and intelligence operatives combined can glean from technical capabilities and professional skills.

Second, nothing is more authentic than human intelligence. Third, the character of men and women in uniform determines the level of trust citizens have in the forces, and the information and cooperation they can render, in fighting crime.

So, why am I writing to you, Sir? It’s the menace of rising mob actions in the West Nile region. Young men suspected of snatching mobile phone handsets are being bludgeoned to death or burnt alive by irate mobs. There were at least 10 such attacks in Arua City, Maracha, Zombo, Terego and Arua districts between April-June 2024. Women can hardly move safely with their handbags safely.

Boda Bodas are being attacked, killed, and their motorcycles stolen.  Thugs rule the streets day and night in crime hotspots such as Kirabu, Adriko, Asuru cells, Mvara Dri and Ediofe suburbs and Rhino Camp and Wadriff roads in the Central Business District.

The organised criminals have baptised themselves with fancy names: Jobless Billionaires, Above The Law, The Gaza Boys, Manya Boys, Chicken Cannot Pass, Fire Eaters and Janjaweed.

Many of the members are young boys, including preteens. They can be lethal. They attack in groups, surround their target and expropriate valuables with clinical precision. The question is: where are the police when needed most? Perhaps they are overstretched. Okay, fair enough. But what do those present do? For example, in January 2024, two police officers were chloroformed while illegally guarding a shop owned by a foreign national. How about local leaders? Are security agencies working with families and political leaders to conceal, rather than fight, crime? 

My view is that mob action, more aptly injustice, is on the rise in West Nile because many of the police officers have either abdicated their responsibilities or are backdoor beneficiaries of crime proceeds.  Otherwise, why is it that criminal gangs --- which are known --- terrorise Arua City in broad daylight unfettered and unpunished? How come some senior political leaders are first responders and pleaders for release of suspected criminals taken into police custody? 

There are cases where suspects taken to police leave the station before the complainant!  So, if caught in a repeat offence, the community decides to take the law into their hands. 

In 2023, a double-cabin pick-up truck and several motorcycles due for auction were stolen from Arua City Central Police Station parking yard! How can this be explained if some of the police officers were not complicit or thieves themselves? There is likelihood the government will pay a price at elections for the spate of crime, which is why it must be nipped in the bud.  

I, therefore, propose the following:
 · Shake up the command of police in the region. 
·Audit causes and cases of mob attacks.
·Investigate mismanaged or neglected case files.
·Transfer or retire aged and money-minded young officers in public interest. 
·Audit police force strength in West Nile. 
These and other interventions will greatly improve police image, effectiveness and efficiency in our region.