FIRST READ: Don’t Karimojong children have rights too?
http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2010/05/tbn-prosperity-heretic-sell-that.html
Hon. Winifred Kiiza’s behavoiur is a mockery of parliamentary integrity and the formal justice system
This week, newspapers have been awash with the story of Hon. Winifred Kiiza’s who slapped a Karamojong child abuse suspect amidst the ululations of police and certain sections of the media fraternity. Worse still, the Hon. MP was non apologetic about her action and the general public was in support of her conduct. One Ugandan compared her to Jesus who flogged the money changers in the temple.Can you, Imagine!
As if, this was not enough, the police head of the crime desk at the Kampala Central Police Station, Johnson Agaba has hypocritically summoned the MP to informally record a statement, and the Police spokesperson, Henry Kalulu has categorically said, “I did not see her beat the woman; may be she attempted’’There is also no complainant and the incident is not recorded in the Police files.” (The New Vision, Thursday, 27th May, 2010) .
How can a legislator take the law in her hands with impunity and the police simply react with hypocrisy and judicial gymnastics? Surely, the ‘’gods in this country are not just crazy, they have simply gone bizarre!!’’ How can a suspect be assaulted at a police station and police tells us, we did not see and there is no complaint. Does the police have any moral authority to attack the judge whom they accuse of letting Kajubi off the hook?
Hon. Winifred Kiiza’s conduct was unprofessional at least and pathetic at most. Her anger is understandable however she shouldn’t have allowed emotions to take precedence over reason, integrity and civility. Supposing it is later discovered that the slapped Karamogong woman was of unsound mind, What will the Hon. MP tell us? The MPs conduct and the police reaction are indicative of the uncivilized peasant mentality explicit in even the elites- a mentality which prefers doing things informally in a formal milieu.
How different is the Hon.MP’s conduct from the peasant mob justice brigades that storm police stations to kill chicken thieves? Take or leave it, the conduct of the Hon.MP and the police reaction has sent a message to the common Ugandan that the formal justice system is a gimmick. This is a very dangerous precedent. Although, there are many loopholes in Uganda’s formal justice system, we must respect it and guard jealously because it is far much better than informal justice.
Kizito Michael George
Kizitomg@gmail.com
Legislator slaps beggar over child abuse
http://www.newvision.co.ug/detail.php?newsCategoryId=12&newsId=720638
Monday, 24th May, 2010
Kizza slapping the Karimojong woman for allegedly torturing the child she is carrying
By Patrick Jaramogi
THERE was drama at the Kampala Central Police Station (CPS) yesterday when the Kasese Woman MP Winifred Kiiza slapped a Karimojong beggar during a press briefing.
Kiiza was at the Police station to report a case against Edward Smith, alias Ali Mubarak, over attempting to con her of sh50m in a fake gold deal.
But she turned her attention on Lukiyo Agino, a 23-year-old Karimojong girl, who was arrested over child abuse.
The drama unfolded when the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Henry Kalulu, dragged in Lukiyo along with a malnourished two-year-old child she was using as bait to get money from sympathisers.
“This lady has been arrested in connection with torturing this innocent child. She has been using this child to solicit cash in the streets. This is child abuse,” said Kalulu. “And the worst part of it all is that the child is not even hers,” Kalulu explained
The child belongs to Lokwere Mongesi, another Karimojong woman who was already under Police custody.
The MP, who was seated next to Kalulu during the press briefing, walked towards Lukiyo who was seated about three metres away.
“Why do you subject this child to such acts?” asked Kiiza.
The legislator demanded to know whether Lukiyo knew the pains of childbirth.
Lukiyo, who apparently did not understand the question, laughed instead, angering the MP further. This prompted her to swing a slap into her face, sending the journalists into laughter.
”Mwongere (slap her more),” some journalists shouted.
Lukiyo started crying as the furious MP added another slap before she was blocked from landing another whack.
Lukiyo was then whisked away by the Police to another room.
Kalulu declined to state whether Kiiza would be reprimanded for assaulting a suspect in Police custody. He instead said the two Karimojong women would face charges of child neglect.
Several Karimojong children beg on various streets in the city. Efforts to take them off the streets have so far failed. When the city council rounds them up, they somehow reappear after a few weeks. The council says the children are ferried back by “unfriendly” people.
Meanwhile, the Police are holding the Asian man over trying to extort money from the Woman MP. Edward Smith was nabbed in Parliament just as he was to about rip Kiiza of $25,000 (sh50m).
He had allegedly promised the MP ‘gold’ worth sh50m, which she would sell for about sh70m and make a profit of sh20m.
Smith, whom the Police showed to journalists yesterday, reportedly belongs to a city gang carrying out “intellectual robbery.”
Smith’s mother is Egyptian, while the father is from Yemen but the son says he is a Ugandan of Asian origin, the Police disclosed.
The gang, according to Kalulu, has been engaged in extortion rackets, targeting leading businessmen and politicians.
“We have a case of a leading businessman who was conned of sh1b early this year by this ‘muzungu’ after he promised him gold. The businessman (name withheld) had to sell his prime land and get bank loans to sustain his business,” said Kalulu.
Also arrested were three other people over trying to con Geoffrey Anouk, a city businessman, of sh36m. John Mugisa, Daniel Okot from Gulu and Abubaker Masaba from Busia were arrested from Quality Super Market in Old Kampala.
“They tricked Anouk that they had brought him gold. But when he checked the polythene bag, it contained a packet of glucose biscuits and juice,” Kalulu said.
In the same swoop, George William Kasirivu, the manager of a Kasirex Company Limited, was also arresrted. Kasirivu, who once worked in Iraq as a guard, is allegedly behind the theft of money from over 300 Ugandans who were working in Iraq.
“He was smart and evaded the Police like Osama Bin Laden does. He doesn’t board cars and walks between midnight and 5:00am. But we finally pounced on him,” said Kalulu.
Kasirivu, dressed in a dark blue suit, looked composed as journalists took his picture. He even smiled during the interaction.
He is accused of obtaining sh750m from the Ugandans, promising them jobs in Afghanistan.
“He was smart. He personally called these innocent boys from Iraq and sent them e-mails. The boys were earning $700 (sh1.4m in Iraq) but he promised them $3,000 (sh6m) for jobs in Afghanistan. The boys saw this as a lucrative deal and abandoned their Iraq jobs,” explained Kalulu.
He said once they jetted into the country, Kasirivu asked his “prey” to deposit sh2.5m into his Stanbic Bank in Lugogo.
“After getting their money, he engaged a cat-and-mouse game, shifting offices daily from Mengo, Kajjansi, Ntinda, Lugazi, Natete and Nsambya,” said
Kasirivu’s lack ran out when some of his new clients called him, promising him more money on Saturday.
“As he rushed to pick the money, his older clients had mobilised and handed him over to the Police,” he said.
Kasirivu faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of obtaining money by false pretence. The Police have urged people who were promised jobs in Iraq by Kasirivu to report to CPS.
I Do Not Regret Slapping Beggar – MP
Milton Olupot
The New vision, 25 May 201
http://allafrica.com/stories/201005260616.html
Kampala — The Kasese Woman MP, Winfred Kiiza, who slapped a beggar at the Kampala Central Police Station on Monday, has said she does not regret her action.
Kiiza, who said she regularly gave alms to the Karimojong children in the city, explained that she did not know that the children were being exploited.
"When I was told the story of women planting the children on the streets and going into hiding, I was disgusted. I was hurt when I saw the poor health of the child and realised that the children are not the direct beneficiaries of the money collected," she said.
Lukiyo Agino, 23, had been arrested over allegations of child abuse. The two-year-old child, used as bait to get money from sympathisers, was malnourished. The child belongs to Lokwere Mongesi, who is also under Police custody.
"That is total abuse of the rights of the children. The people who are saying I did bad are murderers. They want to see the children dead. Let those who are saying I took the law into my hands, take me to court," she argued.
The MP called for attention to be shifted to finding ways of getting the children off the streets.
Achia Terrance, the MP for Bokora County in Karamoja, also had no sympathies for Agino.
"It is unfortunate but I can't also blame the MP for slapping her. Some of the women were transported back to Karamoja but that one belongs to a group that hid in Kampala," he said.
However, the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Henry Kalulu, denied seeing the legislator slapping the beggar.
"I did not see the MP beating her. Maybe she attempted to, but there is no complainant. Therefore, the incident is not recorded anywhere in the Police files," he said.
The Uganda Women's Network executive director, Rita Aciro, however, condemned the MP's action.
"An MP has no jurisdiction in a Police station to start beating people. Even if this woman was a criminal, the MP did not have the right to beat her up.
"Some women leaders purport to be advocating for the rights of women, but what message are we sending out when we are seen beating the same women?" she asked.
Aciro called for a study on the behaviour of people.
"We have to get to the roots to understand people like this woman. Condemnation does not yield anything," she said.
The organisation is an advocacy and lobbying coalition of National Women's Non-governmental Organisations, institutions and individuals in Uganda. It was founded in 1993.
MP did wrong to slap the beggar
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/720984
Thursday, 27th May, 2010
Vivian E. AsedriKasese Woman MP Winfred Kiiza disgraced herself and Parliament by assaulting a homeless Karimojong woman.
The woman was a suspect in police custody at Kampala Central Police Station (CPS) .
One wonders if the MP’s despicable act should not prompt the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to prefer charges of torturing a suspect in custody.
Being an MP or VIP for that matter, does not in any way warrant anybody to assume the role of executioner of the law the way Kiiza did.
The MP should be knowledgeable of the Constitution and international human rights instruments such as the United Nations convention against torture, to which Uganda is a signatory.
Moreover every suspect is innocent until proven otherwise by the due process of the law.
The influx of children and women beggars on Kampala streets is a symptom of a breakdown in safety-nets. It is also a sign of lack of social programmes that would have otherwise ameliorate the problem.
The sole reason these women beggars use their children as baits to solicit alms is hunger.
If anything, instead of the MP reacting with such rage, she should have used the opportunity to rally her colleagues in Parliament to challenge Kampala City Council, Ministry for Karamoja and the Government to expeditiously address the root cause of the eyesore.
The fact that the Karimojong women and children keep popping up in Kampala and other major towns is proof that they see a better lifestyle beyond their nomadic living.
The Government should, therefore, take advantage of this change in the Karimojong’s mindset.
It should set up a marshall investment of social services like clean water, emergency free housing for resettlement and sustainable food distribution in Karamoja resettlement centres.
The writer is a medical information technologist, San Diego, California, US
dikumvi@gmail.com
MP denies slapping Karimojong beggar
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/721278
Sunday, 30th May, 2010
By Eddie Ssejjoba
KASESE Woman MP Winfred Kiiza has denied slapping a Karimojong beggar who was in Police custody.
The MP had earlier declined to report to the Kampala Central Police Station, saying she had not informed her boss, the Speaker of Parliament, for clearance. She later recorded a statement on Friday evening.
The deputy Police spokesman for Kampala Metropolitan, Henry Kalulu, yesterday said Kiiza recorded a statement on Friday and denied slapping Lukiya Agino, who had been arrested over using a malnourished baby to beg on the Kampala streets.
“She said as a mother and women leader, she was annoyed and saddened to see someone abusing a malnourished baby, moreover not hers, to get money on the streets,” Kalulu said.
A day after the incident, Kiiza said she did not regret slapping Agino, saying she was “disgusted” by the practice of exploiting children. Asked whether she was still unrepentant, she stated: “Wait for me to record the statement.”
But in her Friday statement, Kiiza told the Police that she tried to slap the woman but restrained herself when she realised that the suspect was not in sound mind.
The MP was angered by the fact that the suspect was drunk at the time of her arrest and kept on laughing, Kalulu explained.
The incident at the central Police station last Monday, attracted wide media coverage, with most people rebuking the legislator for taking the law in her hands.
Agino, Kalulu said, was rescued by the Police from a mob on Entebbe Road after people realised that the baby she was using to beg was about to die.
He said Agino will today appear in court on charges of child abuse.
The child has since been admitted in the Mwana Mugimu Nutrition Ward at Mulago Hospital, where it is being nursed by her mother, Angelina Akwaro.
Resty Birungi, a nursing officer, said the baby had regained appetite and was improving. The embattled MP visited them on Friday.
Speaking in Swahili, Akwaro, who is pregnant, said she had entrusted the child with her sister Agino but was not aware that she was using her to beg.
She said she occasionally begs on the streets because her husband used to assault her whenever she asked for money to look after the baby. The husband abandoned her and returned to Moroto.
Police defend MP for slapping beggar
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/926456/-/x086k1/-/index.html
By Isaac Khisa
Posted Thursday, May 27 2010 at 00:00
Kampala
The Kasese Woman MP who slapped a beggar has no charges to answer, the Police have said. The Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, Mr Henry Kalulu, told Daily Monitor on Tuesday that he did not see Ms Winnifred Kiiza slapping the beggar. “No one has reported the case to the police. And so unless someone complains, we as police cannot do much,” Mr Kalulu.
Ms Kiiza was on Monday at Central Police Station to report a case against Edward Smith, who allegedly attempted to con her of Shs50 million in a fake gold deal. But she turned her attention on Ms Lukiyo Agino, 23, who was arrested over child abuse.
The situation changed when Mr Kalulu, dragged Ms Lukiyo in a news conference together with a malnourished two-year-old child, whom she was using as bait to get money from sympathisers. The child belonged to Ms Lokwere Mongesi, another Karimojong woman, who was already under police custody.
Demanding explanation
The MP, who was seated next to Mr Kalulu during the press briefing, reportedly walked towards Ms Lukiyo and demanded an explanation on whether she knew the pains of childbirth. But Ms Lukiyo, just reportedly laughed, angering the MP further, who then slapped her.
Women activists, however, on Wednesday condemned the act, saying it was unfair for the MP to slap the beggar without finding out the root cause of the problem. “It is very unfortunate that a woman can slap a fellow woman, which does not even help,” the Uganda Women’s Networks Coordinator, Ms Rita Aciro Lakor, said. However, Mr Kalulu said whatever the circumstances, it was unfair and intolerable for Ms Lukiyo to mistreat the child.
Mr Anselm Wandega, the programme coordinator at African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect, said: “It is the responsibility of the police to effectively implement the Trafficking of Persons Act.” He said there’s need for the government to improve the livelihood of people living in Karamoja to stop them from coming to beg in the city.
Ugandan legislator assaults a woman in police custody: who will check mob justice?
http://independent.co.ug/index.php/component/content/article/106-myblog/2964-ugandan-legislator-assaults-a-woman-in-police-custody-who-will-check-mob-justice
Wednesday, 26 May 2010 22:31 Rosebell Kagumire
The New Vision front page story; Legislator slaps beggar over child abuse raises many questions. The woman legislator from Kasese Winifred Kiiza had been to the Police station for a totally different case of attempted conning if i may call it that.
Then along the way she took time to take the law into her own hands at a place where suspects are supposed to be in safe custody, to slap one Lukiyo Agino, a 23-year-old Karimojong girl, who was had been arrested over child abuse.
The story goes Lukiyo was fronting a malnourished child from her friend to people on the streets trying to get money. Lukiyo’s child abuse story is not too intriguing. The problem of Karamoja is a well documented one. It’s one place with a harsh climate that relies on food aid throughout the year. Government has almost kept alive the long held notion of we shall not wait for Karamoja to develop by not helping it to develop even when the First lady is the minister in charge of that region. Most of what we see about Karamoja is about guns and disarmament.
It’s women who suffer most in that part of the country where one has to walk miles to access water. This is a place with about one hospital for about 10,000 people and many have run away to the streets of kampala with their children. While Lukiyo’s alleged act of child abuse is inexcusable, the source of such cases is not these poor women on the streets. And you would expect a legislator to be fully cautious before putting her judgment on such women.
Kiiza’s behavior is only a glimpse into the mob justice culture in Uganda. A person elected to represent a district is the same person to commit crimes right at police station.
The story goes on to say the woman had smiled when the MP asked her if she new the pains of childbirth. What a question to a woman from who probably has never stepped in a school. And even if the question was in Luganda i doubt she has good understanding language BUT above all who’s Kiiza at the Police station?
The most unethical of all acts in this story is journalists geering and asking the MP to give more beating to the woman saying “Mwongere”
This is shameful but it shows how much Ugandans are into mob justice. Even those who are supposed to watch it are involved in it. The story ends with a no comment from a Police officer declining to state if the legislator would face any charges. Of course people like Kiiza understand the workings of our police force. They too practice such violence on suspects so how can they rescue one from a politician who has a district they represent.
This harassment of a suspect by a legislator right before the eyes of the police tells a much bigger story about justice in Uganda. Kiiza must be brought to book for use of violence and if our parliament is worth its name should take such a case seriously. Torture and harrasment are not part of a job of a legislator and If Kayihura still insists that the force doesn’t brutalise civilians he must answer why a suspect would be beaten up at a police station and no action taken.
DEBATE: Should Kasese Woman MP have slapped a beggar?
http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8659&Itemid=62
The Mp was out of bounds to slap the beggar
written by Birungi Andrew , May 26, 2010
In a serious law-abiding society, the MP would have been charged with physical assault for slapping the beggar.
The beggar was already in the hands of the custody of the police who were to take whatever was or is appropriate action against her. The MP is a legislator not a law-enforcer or punisher.
She was out of line to slap the beggar. That is why the police who are the custodian of the law are pretending they did not witness it. MPs should be setting examples to the rest of the citizens. In this they should be law abiding.
Assault
written by Rev Amos Kasibante , May 26, 2010
The sentence (question) reads like one of those sentences we were given in English exams at Secondary School that we had to complete. So here goes:
'Should Kasese Woman MP have slapped a beggar who was in police custody at the police station in full view of the police thus leaving incontrovertible evidence and yet not be arrested and charged with assault and other offences considering that the woman assaulted was under police custody and did not even understand the language the woman MP was speaking?'
Should Kasese Woman MP have slapped a beggar?
written by Daniel Kabogoza , May 26, 2010
As a firm believer in the rule of law, I found it so obnoxious, to watch and read the story of the honourable taking the law in her own hands.
Yes the sight of a strange woman allegedly abusing another woman’s child is so abhorrent, but the MP should have known better not to cross that invisible judicial line.
We have had so many examples of might is right in our mother land and time has come for civilized people to step up and say, yes, let the law take it’s course.
Remember, this woman was already in police custody. Now, what example was this law maker dishing out? Venting out her anger in such a way before the police was unacceptable. I pray that in future, the MP will find some comfort in taking anger management classes before she is called upon to investigate police brutality. She is a law maker and NOT the law.
I am sure there is a possibility of the prey turning around and biting the predator, for violation of civil rights if she gets a good lawyer.
Shame upon the police and the irate MP?
written by Kasule , May 27, 2010
However much the truth is twisted, ASSAULT is a criminal offence and the law is not discriminative on this. I wonder what the legislator will now debate when it comes to debating in parliament on people taking the law in their own hands. If I was coming from her constituency I would be very ashamed of her. The other day the head of the police investigations department of police crimes was very keen on punishing officers who neglect their duties…. how about investigating those police officers who witnessed the crime of assault and fearful as they are from the "orders from above" cannot themselves be complainants…..who then is the custodian of the law. Their boss also agrees with his colleagues well knowing that the illiterate Karimojong woman who does not know a thing about her constitutional rights will not place any charges. We all get mad at one time or the other but God forbid it does not warrant that kind of behaviour for a woman of that caliber and alas "a crime is crime" that require a due process. The police should get that woman MP to answer the ASSAULT charges like the police is doing to the Karimojong woman, if not then the police should let the woman go as the woman MP has already acted as the complainant, prosecutor, judge and hangman. Otherwise I am very fearful that they are setting a very bad precedent.
There's a Case!!
written by joramjojo , May 27, 2010
Member of parliament carried out torture on a citizen of Uganda that was already under police custody!!
The Beggar should sue and take both the MP and the state to the cleaners!!
Unbelievable!
written by Joseph , May 27, 2010
It is still difficult for me to agree with the reality that an mp slapped a civilian under police custody!
How can this Kasese girl do this? By the way is this Mp married and staying with a man? I guess no, because the man would be at it everyday.
Anyway,all Ugandans are equal before the law therefore let the police stop covering up this mp and make a case against this Mp. Or let the selfclaimed human right activist Nuwagaba Vicent take on this Mp on behalf of this helpless Karimajon woman.
Mr
written by Tsaile , May 27, 2010
For a person to stand by the roadside and beg, that person needs help. The police should not arrest such a person but lead her or him to an office or institution that can help.
Civilized countries have social offices where people can go and ask for help when they are hungry or have no place to sleep. For that reason taxes are collected. The police and so called MP should have asked the Karamojong woman why she was in Kampala begging.
We should remember that our consititution allows Ugandans, including Karamojong to live and enjoy themselves in any part of Uganda.
An MP who assaults another citizen just because the other is poor and hungry is not worth to be called honourable. A sensible MP should have asked from the minister in charge of social services why there were hungry citizens with malnourished babies on the streets of our towns and given that Karamojong girl as an example.
Driving citizens out of their city with panda gari is not a solution to ending poverty. Educate Karamojong people and build industries in Karamoja and you will never see them come to dirty Kampala. Robbing the Karamojong of their gold and marble stones is driving them to the streets of Kampala.
Shame upon the silly MP.
Punish violent Parliamentarians
http://www.sundayvision.co.ug/detail.php?mainNewsCategoryId=7&newsCategoryId=124&newsId=721164
KASESE Woman Member of Parliament Winifred Kiiza is in the spotlight for slapping a female Karimojong beggar, Likyo Agino, 23, during a press briefing at Kampala Central Police Station.
According to the laws of this country, this is assault and the Police must take the necessary steps to charge the lawmaker for breaking the law.
While it was very wrong for the Karimojong beggar to use an emaciated child as a bait to get money from sympathetic members of the public, the legislator should have known better than assault a suspect in lawful police custody.
By assaulting the beggar, the MP appropriated to herself the roles of judge and prosecutor, which was very wrong. Two wrongs have never made a right.
As a Member of Parliament, honourable Kiiza’s role is to come up with appropriate laws to, first, protect vulnerable children from abuse and exploitation by selfish people and, secondly, ensure that the conditions that forced these Karimojong women and children out of their homes to beg on the streets of Kampala are addressed.
Instead of assaulting her, the MP should have sat down with the Karimojong beggar to find out how she and many others ended up as beggars on the streets of Kampala, using malnourished children as baits to get sympathy.
It is very wrong for our leaders to take the law into their hands; it sends a wrong signal to the ordinary person on the street, who might interpret it as a thumbs up signal to mob justice. The incident also puts to question the Police’s capacity to provide security to suspects under their custody.
If the Police is really committed to stamping out the culture of mob justice from our society, then they should charge honourable Kiiza for assaulting the Karimojong beggar.
Published on: Saturday, 29th May, 2010
Dishonourable Kiiza must be made to regret her slap
By Bernard Tabaire
http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/OpEdColumnists/BernardTabaire/-/878688/927536/-/view/printVersion/-/amm3mpz/-/index.html
Posted Saturday, May 29 2010 at 00:00
In Summary
MP Kiiza’s behaviour is variously offensive and the police must not protect her. Police chief Kale Kayihura must declare publicly that he will punish any of his officers seeking to protect this politically, morally, and intellectually crude MP.
A young woman uses another woman’s malnourished child, said to be two years old, to pull in some coins off Kampala’s streets. The police arrest her for alleged child abuse. While at the Central Police Station, a woman MP encounters her being paraded (a strange but persistent practice by our enlightened police force) before journalists. The MP, Ms Winifred Kiiza of Kasese, unleashes not one but two hot slaps across the 23-year-old beggar’s face while accusing her of exploiting a child. A sharp photojournalist captures the dramatic moment. That is Monday.
The next day, a police spokesman who paraded the woman claims he saw nothing and therefore the MP could not be charged for common assault. Besides, no complaint had been registered. It did not matter that journalists saw and captured it all unfold. Indeed, some of the journalists, feeling stupidly superior, encouraged the MP to slap the beggar some more. After all, what is she doing begging on our cute streets, coming all the way as she does from that backwater that is Karamoja.
Back to sharp-eyed spokesman Henry Kalulu. This officer’s point is that the beggar is actively conscious of her rights she must first file a complaint before she can be protected from the hypocritical wrath of her assailant. That beggars belief. Otherwise Mr Kalulu could have been trying, carefully, to protect the MP and avoid embarrassment that someone could openly abuse police authority by assaulting another in front of police officers and reporters inside a powerful police station. How else to explain the fact that the following day the police reversed itself and summoned the MP who, by the way, already said she has nothing to regret or apologise for?
MP Kiiza’s behaviour is variously offensive and the police must not protect her. Police chief Kale Kayihura must declare publicly that he will punish any of his officers seeking to protect this politically, morally, and intellectually crude MP. If anything, the police must be incensed that their authority was blatantly challenged by the MP taking the law into her hands to assault another person, however disturbing that person’s behaviour toward an innocent, who already was in police custody.
But let us examine the MP’s motivations and source of outrage. The MP seems to feel for children, as all “normal” people do and should. She likes to see happy and healthy children everywhere. In seeing an emaciated and exploited child off the street, she felt angry enough to punish the person who took advantage of the infant. This honourable woman and mother thinks that two wrongs make a right. That is a shame.
She also thinks that there must be something wicked about people who end on the streets of Kampala begging her, and others like her, for alms. Our good MP seems blissfully incapable of making any connection between the policies of the government, including the Parliament she serves that is charged with making laws (not taking them in own hands), and begging on the streets. Her thinking is unsurprisingly not different from that of her colleague, Mr Terrance Achia of Bokora in Karamoja. “It is unfortunate but I can’t also blame the MP for slapping her,” he said. “Some of the women were transported back to Karamoja but that one belongs to a group that hid in Kampala.” Would it not be better to tell us how these undesirables hide, and who aids them in their evil scheme if anyone? Also, it would be helpful for Winifred & Co to use their energies to understand why anyone goes to the street to beg with a view to addressing the matter. We elect leaders to work through things like that, not to beat us up. Even if we have (dodgy) leaders we deserve, we always hold out hope that they will surprise us once in while.
“When I was told the story of women planting the children on the streets and going into hiding, I was disgusted,” MP Kiiza said. “I was hurt when I saw the poor health of the child and realised that the children are not the direct beneficiaries of the money collected.” Her problem is not even that there is begging at all, but that the beggars divert the begged money. What logic!
The least that can be done, however, is that on top of robust police action, Parliament must reprimand Ms Winifred Kiiza, even if symbolically, for further muddying up the legislature’s name. For it is highly unlikely that Ms Kiiza would have acted the way she did if she did not feel she had power over the beggar (just like some men do their women), and even the police officers present. Her feeling of supreme importance emanated directly from her being an MP. Being the leader she is, or is supposed to be, we must judge her conduct on a much higher standard. Over to police and Parliament.
Mr Tabaire is a media trainer and consultant with the African Centre for Media Excellence
bentab@hotmail.com
