Are rogue security operatives Kampala's new armed threat?
Incidences of theft of cash and motor vehicles seem to have reached an
unprecedented level in the country, especially in the Kampala area.
According to Police records, property and cash to the tune of Shs 93bn was
robbed in 1999 of which only Shs 5bn was recovered. The figures for
2000 are not yet available but considering that the vice has been growing
rather than reducing, it's probable that the figure is way beyond Shs
100bn.
Already in the first half of 2001, over Shs 500m has been lost in cash,
not to mention the millions worth of property -- mostly 4WD vehicles.
Between April 18 and May 31, 2001 alone (a period of less than two
months), at least a dozen people were killed and Shs 400m was lost in armed
robberies around the country (see opposite story).
But what is more worrying is the daring nature and precision the
robberies are taking. Often, the robberies have been staged in broad daylight
in the city centre. In one incident in April, thugs held up traffic
along Port Bell Road as they robbed money from a Pajero before making an
effortless escape.
So why is violent crime on the rise in Uganda? Is it a factor of a
growing (or slumping) economy? Does it have anything to do with the level
of unemployment? Is it related to increased drug abuse? Or has Police
simply failed in its duties?
Many Ugandans have been asking themselves these questions since last
Monday's daring city robbery in which police fought running battles with
armed thugs who had stolen Shs 5m from Pearl Blankets (see Four Dead In
Police, Robbers Shoot-out, The Monitor June 12).
While the robbers were eventually over-powered and killed, the fight
they put up -- complete with light machine guns (LMGs), pump action
rifles and hand grenades -- has shown that these are no ordinary robbers. It
points to the existence of well-organised gangs with high security
connections!
This is supported by police investigations that have pointed to a
Colonel (name withheld) in the UPDF as the man running the ring. The
Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), headed by Lt. Col. Noble Mayombo,
has also featured high in the police investigations.
A police source that did not want to be named told Sunday Monitor that
on a number of occasions, robbed vehicles are chased by police patrol
vehicles and they disappear into CMI headquarters near the Mulago
roundabout. Indeed this past week, a CMI operative, Lt. Swalleh Okune, was
arrested with a stolen car as he drove towards CMI headquarters.
Another officer revealed that several times police dogs taken to scenes
of robbery sniff out the culprits up to the gates of CMI and the story
ends there.
Another pointer to the army was the June 4 robbery of Shs 19m from DFCU
Masaka branch. Armed men with an LMG, a preserve of the army, and
several SMGs sealed off the bank and were leading the manager to the strong
room when their colleague who was taking cover outside fired, killing
Police Constable Tumusiime. Apparently, the gang was gunning for Shs 1bn
that had been brought to the bank the previous day. When they heard
gunshots, they thought police had intervened. The thugs grabbed Shs 19m
and the six vehicles they used sped into different directions. Sources in
police say some vehicles entered Kasijagirwa army barracks in Masaka.
During the infamous June 11 city gunfight, as police battled robbers in
Kampala, a number of soldiers were holed up in their cars in front of
the Central Police Station parking lot.
Further, information reaching the police says that before the four
bodies were moved from the final scene of battle, a UPDF officer drove in a
Toyota Landcruiser Prado to the City Mortuary to find out whether the
bodies had been delivered.
Unconfirmed information from police says three of the dead thugs were
UPDF soldiers including a Captain and a Lieutenant!
And while Police were chasing these same robbers, officers monitoring
the chase and issuing instructions in the radio room were being
interrupted by a caller from the army who wanted an update of the situation on
the ground. The intrusion in the communication was so much that police
cut off communication altogether and the patrol cars were left to chase
the thugs the hard way!
Clearly, there is big military involvement in this new wave of
robberies. A security contact (names withheld) says rogue military officers
hire out guns and ammunitions to the robbers for between Shs 500,000 and
Shs 1m per operation.
The robbers must pay this money up front and when the mission succeeds,
they give him a bonus!
Last year, security agencies in a bid to fight robberies impounded over
900 guns from security personnel in Kampala.
?These guns were recovered from officers who fail to hand over their
arms when they have been transferred, most of the culprits were ISO
operatives and even senior security personnel who carried more guns than
they should have officially,? a Police source said.
Chief of CMI, Lt Col. Noble Mayombo, however, told Sunday Monitor that
police has not made a formal compliant and furnished the army with
information on incidents where they suspect the involvement of UPDF
soldiers or CMI operatives.
"The discipline of the army is of great interest to us. Police needs to
give us this information so that the army can take it up¼Yes some
security personnel may be involved in criminal activities but certainly it
is not state sanctioned," he said.
So what could have happened to the disciplined force that the UPDF has
been known to be?
Analysts point to two factors: the DR Congo war and greed on the part
of certain military officers who have become accustomed to too much
money -- mostly war booty. There is also the wider problem of poor
remuneration for the foot soldiers, and the growing poverty and unemployment in
the country, as well as the general decline in the standard of living.
Ugandans will recall that at the start of "the second" DR Congo war in
1998, the UPDF, which had just completed a demobilisation exercise, was
thin in terms of personnel. The new war therefore made it necessary to
beef up the army. As a result, veterans who had been discharged where
recalled but worse, street children and other petty criminals in Kampala
and other urban centres found their way to the Congo frontline.
The result is that with the phased withdrawal from DR Congo (under the
terms of the Lusaka Accord), many of these criminals are now back in
town -- and with them fresh combat experience, arms and ammunition.
Rogue military officers have also realised that they can use these
hardened criminals to enrich themselves -- which has given rise to a
symbiotic relationship between the two groups.
All this is known police so why have they failed to crush the crime
rings?
Sources within police told Sunday Monitor that the biggest obstacle is
involvement of security personnel who give the robbers information
about all police activities and plans.
Apparently, according to the source, the army taps and monitors police
communication signals. They do it in the name of security but at times
it's used to divert patrol cars in case of a robbery.
And, every morning police compile a "security situation report" about
Kampala. Elements in the army usually pick a copy with pretext that they
are taking it to State House to brief the president. In the recent
past, police killed a soldier in a robbery after he had earlier in the day
picked the situation report!
No doubt a huge task lies ahead for Police. Somehow, the theft of
vehicles, especially the much-coveted 4WDs has been reduced with the coming
of high frequency radio tracking systems, thanks to Car-Track Ltd, a
Kenyan-based company.
Small saloon car owners are reluctant though, to install the
radio-based system. As a result, robbers are now targeting small cars, which they
dismantle and sell as spare parts.
However, a bigger problem still exists? that of cash robberies. Cash
robbers usually strike on Mondays and Fridays, targeting fuel stations
going to bank the weekend sales or Forex bureaux withdrawing money from
banks.
Apparently, the robbers have contacts in a number of private and public
establishments from where they receive reliable information on when and
how much money is being moved where.
Entebbe Road has witnessed many robberies because bosses are not
security conscious; they send their employees, especially drivers or
secretaries, to make their flight bookings. It's at this point that the
employees get to know what airline one will use when.
"They do not only book but even send them to confirm bookings and the
worst, sending them to buy foreign currency. So someone knows how much
money his boss is carrying," a police source says. The employees pass on
the information to robbers who execute their mission with precision.
Similarly, robbers have contacts in banks who pass on information about
who has withdrawn what.
Some police officers are also involved in robberies, the latest being
the involvement of PC Joseph Bukenya of Kitebi in a robbery.
There is therefore no doubt that crime in Uganda is becoming more
sophisticated with thieves having better weapons than the police. Indeed
sometime last year, the Special Revenue Protection Unit (SRPS) impounded
over 20 pieces of bullet-proof jackets. The green bullet-proof jackets
were being smuggled into Uganda on Lake Victoria. Nobody knows where the
smugglers were taking the jackets.
>From the foregoing therefore, it is clear robberies, especially in the
Kampala area, may never stop unless the rogue elements in CMI and UPDF
are pruned out.
Interestingly, CMI is on the verge of starting an Anti-Robbery Squad.
This, police fears, is going to disrupt their operations as rogue
elements might take control of it and instead use it to protect their ilk.
Maj. Gen. Katumba Wamala, the new Inspector General of Police therefore
has his job cut out for him; to rein in his fellow soldiers who have
become a security menace.
It's on this that his legacy will be written.
__________
bwanika
url: www.idr.co.ug
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