Police spokesperson ACP Kituuma Rusoke addresses journalists at the police headquarters in Naguru, Kampala on July 8, 2024. PHOTO/PRISCILLA MALOBA
The new police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kituuma Rusoke, joined the police force as a Cadet on September 1, 2007, and has risen through the ranks since then.
Born in Kyenjojo District in Tooro Sub-region, he replaces Senior Commissioner of Police Fred Enanga, who served in the position for about seven years.
Enanga was posted to Interpol as deputy director, following the police reshuffle.
Sharing about his 16-year career, including titles earned and work he has accomplished, Rusoke says he joined the police as a Cadet at the Police Training School Kabalye in Masindi District.
“My first station was in Entebbe, where I was acting in the position of Officer-in-Charge of Operations. I was then promoted to the position of Officer-in-Charge (OC) station,” Mr Rusoke said.
“I went briefly to Police Training School in Kabalye, Masindi where I served as an administration officer, and shortly after, a message came through, posting me to Old Kampala as the District Police Commander. After Old Kampala, I served in several other districts that included Mitooma, as a District Police Commander and to Kiboga as a District Police Commander, under Wamala Region,” he said.
He was then posted to Kampala Metropolitan Area as the District Police Commander of Wakiso and later seconded to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) as the manager security and enforcement operations.
After serving in this position at KCCA, he was transferred to East Kyoga, as the deputy Regional Police Commander (RPC), and thereafter, took over as full RPC.
“When I left East Kyoga, I went for a senior command and staff course at Bwebajja [Entebbe Road]. When I returned after one year, I was posted to Busoga East, and before I could settle there, another radio call message came through, posting me to Rwizi, where I have been untill recently when I was assigned the duties of a police press and public relations officer,” Mr Rusoke said.
He also briefly served as the personal assistant to the then Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura, at the police headquarters.
Commenting on why he thinks he is best suited for the position, he said: “No, I do not want to say I am the most suitable for this position, but I would wish to say that I am among the suitable ones. Because I cannot be a judge in my own case. I have not judged others. There might be several others who are better than me. But I am saying that I am among those who, if given this task and that I have it, I can perform it without a doubt.”
His appointments to the previous positions came with challenges. He particularly cites law enforcement.
“Law enforcement is never a smooth ride, because you are asserting a position and out there, there is a citizen who has a contrary opinion and way of doing things. So enforcement as a task entails nipping into the freedoms and the liberties of individuals,” he said.
“You apprehend people, you arrest, you inconvenience, and that is the generic challenge every law enforcement officer around the globe will tell you. During execution of our duties, we usually go by institutional mandates, we usually go ahead and enforce and ensure that, and sometimes we use people as a weapon in the achievement of our objectives. When I was in KCCA, I knew the KCCA mandate and the instructions, and the tone, and I went and did my work. In Rwizi, it has been the same.”
Mr Rusoke says no amount of public criticism will stop him from performing his duties.
“I have been called upon and told, link the police with the communication space. If a situation arises and I fail to draw a link between the expectations of the public and the expectations of the institution, that would be purely me to blame, but I know that I will perform this task,” Mr Rusoke said.
Education and hobbies
Mr Rusoke said he is a graduate of Makerere University where he studied Social Sciences majoring in Economics and Political Science. He also returned to the same institution to pursue a master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies.
Rusoke, a family man with a wife and children, says he loves sports and has been a sportsman. “I love football and in my middle stages, I used to play a lot of table tennis. I love teams, because with football, you can never be neutral,” Mr Rusoke said.
He supports Arsenal FC, a team in London, UK.
