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Brave or Naive; DPC Kirumira arrested amid gunshots
TV screen shots of Kirumira being arrested by Flying Squad officers
The Police Flying Squad this week cut out the door of Buyende DPC Muhammad Kirumira’s house as they arrested him over statements he uttered in which he denounced apparent witch-hunt by the Police leadership.
Whoever watched the evening news of Wednesday this week by Uganda’s major news outlets must have held their heads in shock.
Muhammad Kirumira, invited the media to tell the nation that he had decided to quit the police, even though he acknowledged there was a procedure through which a serving police officer is allowed to leave the force.
Kirumira accused his bosses of witch-hunt by resurrecting cases he allegedly committed five years ago.
Last Thursday Kirumira appeared before the Police Tribunal in Naguru and was charged with torture, corruption and extortion among other cases which he allegedly committed in 2012. Kirumira is for example linked with the death of someone in Nansana, a charge he rejects and instead pushes it to the flying squad.
In apparent disregard of all rules of conduct and decorum expected from a serving officer, Kirumira hit back by making counter-accusations by appearing to link the current rampant killings in the country to the leadership of the Police.
In taking apparent aim at the Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura, Kirumira said a number of police officers have misbehaved and committed several acts of torture without being tried. He cited the infamous pepper spraying of Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye by Bwana Arinaitwe and several other incidents involving misconduct on the part of police officers as acts that have never been tried.
Kirumira’s naivety could be seen from his apparent attempt to openly disrespect the leadership of the force while still serving under it. Worse still, perhaps, is the way Kirumira appeared to appeal to the President to clean up the force, as if he’s didn’t approve of the acts that were committed by Gen. Kale Kayihura’s men.
On the other hand however, some would argue that Kirumira’s trick is play to the public gallery and claim his innocence, using his past record as someone who has historically stood up to power and spoken out against Police criminality.
Kirumira’s brevity, The Sunrise has been informed, is helped by the sense of trust and good record held by President Museveni following his previous work in hunting thieves in Nansana. It is alleged that during one of the high-level security meetings that were held at State House in Entebbe, President Museveni asked why Kirumira had not been invited. This reportedly rubbed the leadership of the police the wrong way and formed the basis of his ‘suffering’.
But being the disciplinarian that he is, Kirumira’s outbursts this week, would most likely attract the cane rather than the carrot from the Commander in Chief.
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