Prime
Museveni: I won’t spare whoever attacks Uganda
Tour. President Museveni (with hat) accompanied by IGP Martins Okoth-Ochola (2nd right) and ministers tour the CCTV National Command and Control Centre in Naguru, Kampala, yesterday. PHOTO BY DAVID LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Justification. The President says he considers all Ugandans and Africans part of his family and will even put his life on the line for them.
- The Inspector General of Police, Mr Martins Okoth-Ochola, said CCTV cameras have improved policing in the country.
President Museveni has said he will not spare anyone who tries to attack or mistreat Ugandans and Africans.
Speaking at the commissioning the CCTV National Command and Control Centre in Kampala yesterday, the President said he considers all Ugandans and Africans part of his family and will even put his life on the line for them.
“If you have love for the fatherland, it means all Ugandans are our family members. If you have got this in your head, you will not neglect your duties because you know that any attack any Ugandans is like attacking your child, sister and brother,” Mr Museveni said.
“Some people don’t have that feeling. They feel that family members are those from the same woman. But to me, all Ugandans, all Africans are my family; that is why I will cause you a lot of problems. If you are near me and you kill, mistreat or rape an African woman, who is my muzukulu (grandchild), ofudde (you are dead). I can’t spare you,” he added.
The President’s remarks left those in attendance puzzled on whether he was referring to the current high crime rate in Uganda or sending a message to external threats.
Mr Museveni said defending Africans from oppression is what took him to Mozambique to join freedom fighters in 1968.
“What was I looking for? There were no Banyankole. I was not going to greet agandi (a Runyankole greeting meaning how you are?); It is because Mozambicans are Africans and they were being oppressed,” he added.
Mr Museveni has previously sent troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire), Sudan before the formation of South Sudan as an independent state and now Somalia. Uganda also helped rebels backed by Mr Paul Kagame to capture power in Rwanda following the 1994 genocide.
The President said some people have attempted to discredit his National Resistance Movement party by killing high profile people in urban areas.
“Yet security is my area, my constituency. That is my battle ground. If you want to challenge Uganda, you should look for another constituency. We are going to defeat these criminals. This is just the beginning,” he said.
The Inspector General of Police, Mr Martins Okoth-Ochola, said CCTV cameras have improved policing in the country.
“We have been able to improve of our 999 emergency system and we are now able to identify the location of distress calls in time. With camera and DNA profiling, the institution has registered tremendous success in tracing wanted persons and vehicles,” Mr Ochola said.
The function was attended by, among others, Internal Affairs minister Obiga Kania, Security minister Elly Tumwine and Chief of Defence Forces David Muhoozi.
