Change in the Air : Uganda Civil Society Supports Review of Policing

A group of 30 Ugandan civil society organisations, along with the African Police Civilian Oversight Forum and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, has committed to engage with an upcoming review of policing in Uganda and to help build an accountable, democratic and community focused police service for Uganda. The organisations made the commitment at a national training workshop for civil society organisations on policing, organised by Human Rights Network Uganda (HURINET-U), together with the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI) and the Uganda Prisoner’s Aid Foundation (UPAF) in Entebbe, Uganda, in mid-August.

Uganda’s police force is a legacy of the country’s colonial past. This means that the police force is heavily militarised, unaccountable and firmly within the control of the ruling government. Policing in the country has been coloured by brutality, impunity, torture, illegal arrest and detention, corruption, partiality and excessive use of force, often in the face of attempts by exemplary police officers to serve the community and provide the Ugandan people with the police that they deserve. Successive regimes have made unashamed use of the police as a political tool, to clamp down on opposition, dissent and the media, while starving the organisation of the resources it needed to fulfill its mandate.

Uganda fell under British control in the late 19th century, first as a trading outpost of the British East Africa Company, and later as a British Protectorate. Under colonial rule, the police were a para-military force imposed to protect the political and economic interests of the British and to put down resistance and opposition to colonial policies. The transition to independence in 1962 was relatively peaceful, but within four years, Uganda was plunged into decades of divisive politics, with coups and counter coups marking prolonged periods of instability and dictatorship. This political context shaped the police; the various governments quickly recognised the political use of a partisan police force to secure power. Successive regimes wholeheartedly adopted the colonial model of regime policing as their own and reform of the police was an impossible dream.

Uganda is now firmly on a democratic road, although it is a road marred with cracks and fissures. In a positive development, multi-party elections were held last year for the first time since 1980, breaking years of one-party politics. On the other hand, the elections were overshadowed by claims of electoral fraud and the high profile arrest and detention of opposition leader Kizza Besigye. The elections returned the incumbent, President Museveni to power, but were an important signal that democracy is evolving and taking hold in the country.

Reform of the police will be a critical part of the realisation of true democracy. Democratic nations need democratic policing.

The police force itself has recognised that the current police laws and systems need to be considered and evaluated, and has embarked on a review of its policies and functions. This process is being led by an internal police steering committee, which is currently consulting within its own ranks, as well as within the community and civil society, to draw up a way to move policing forward.

Civil society will be a critical part of this review process. Discussion and debate around policing has been increasing in Uganda over the past few years; this is largely due to the work of civil society organisations and individuals, who have worked to highlight police misconduct and push for system reform. A successful community-focused review process will require both the involvement and engagement of civil society – and the signs are that the police force will seek and consider community input, and that civil society are ready and able to take up the challenge of police reform. An important first step towards taking up this challenge was the HURINET-U civil society training workshop; the level of attendance and engagement with the issues discussed was a truly heartening sign of what the review process can be. The workshop closed with the participants calling on the Ugandan government to recognise civil society’s role in the review, calling on the police to design a time-led, transparent, participatory and consultative review process and calling on civil society to participate fully in the review.

The full text of the final statement, as well as more information on the workshop proceedings, is available on the CHRI website www.humanrightsinitiative.org