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| RIP Andrew Felix Kaweesi... killed in your prime |
A few months before that, a radio program on land thefts and wrangles, and how they could be addressed, had hosted my father. He had spoken in depth about how he had lost everything he owned. The presenters had called Kaweesi, who was the Police spokesperson at the time, and he had promised that he would look into the case. And he had.
Today, 17th March was a normal day in Andrew Felix Kaweesi’s home. He got up early, one of his key programs of the day was to address a seminar at Uganda Christian University in Mukono. He usually has security detail, because he is a Very Important Person. He didn't have the security detail today, save for his bodyguard and police driver.
They exited the gate at his home in Kulambiro, after he had bid his wife and young children farewell, and "see you later". About 5 minutes from his home, the assailants were waiting in the slight drizzle. With machine guns, Uzos. Fully loaded. The gunmen worked like trained assassins. Their hands went inside their jackets and when they emerged, it was to kill. They didn't miss their target. Three men down. Dead. Then they fled on a motorcycle. In broad daylight.
And just like that Andrew Felix Kaweesi’s life was snuffed out. On a chilly, wet morning.
Eyewitnesses took pictures of the scene, the lifeless bodies that had breathed just a few minutes ago, slumped across the seats, the stream of blood spilled out onto the wet, dirt road. His black car was riddled with bullet holes on its right side, the side where the killers stood. The glass was shattered into small shards on the ground. The pictures went viral on social media. And of course the media was in overdrive.
The police chief Kale Kayihura arrived a few minutes later. He was flanked by several policemen. He seemed to be in shock, and did not immediately speak. He later said he had been on the phone with Kaweesi a few minutes earlier. Discussing the headline in the Friday Monitor newspaper that spoke about the thugs killing people in Teso sub-region in the East. "It was preposterous!" he rallied.
The reaction from the many sections of the public was not kind. There was anger in their sentiments. People demanded to know why there have been so many unsolved murders, carried out in exactly the same way. In many cases, no arrests have been made. People worried for their safety. Others called for the immediate resignation of the police chief. One complained about how police should start doing their job to ensure security, and not demand for money every time a citizen goes to report a case. People wondered what the motive was. Others doubted that Kaweesi had haters. Most described him as soft-spoken, always smiling, humble, always ready to give a comment to journalists, he had the “rare ability to connect with people… .”
Some have spoken ill of the man. Others have made crude jokes.
The police chief says to Ugandans not to politicize the incident and wait for investigations into the matter to be concluded. Then suddenly he spoke tough. “…security agencies will continue to hunt down the killers who have tragically ended Kaweesi’s life… They have been warning they will hit us where it hurts most. The murder of Kaweesi has indeed hurt us. But these are remnants of organized thuggery. In fact, many of them have been put behind bars since they started killing Muslim leaders and they confessed.”
They have promised that they are investigating, and, “not yet sure about what led to Kaweesi’s death, but that his killing is similar to that of the Muslim clerics in past years.”
People dismissed it as the usual rhetoric. That it was the same thing when Bahiga was killed, when Muwaya was killed, when Kagezi was killed. All the way from 2012.
The President has ordered the “immediate installation of cameras in all major towns of Uganda and along the highways.”
But there is that school of thought that says “we should agree that there is a security lapse and such installations will not last…the assassins will target them first…” And that “what happened to the ones that were installed for CHOGM 2007?”
And even then, the ones who have been arrested and charged, have never been jailed. That those cases just drag on and on and on.
The city mortuary operations have been suspended. Mourners are converging on his home in Kulambiro to condole with the family. In Lwengo, where he grew up, his people are holding a vigil at his newly-built eight-bedroom house.
This week, Kaweesi was busy. On Sunday he attended a church service in Lwengo. On Monday, he issued an ultimatum to police officers transferred to new stations to report for duty. On Wednesday, he visited a family whose house had its roof blown off by a police helicopter. He promised that the “Police force would re-roof the house and repair the damages on the window glasses… the accident was caused by the too much pressure of the wind… (sic).” On Thursday, his first assignment was an interview with NTV about a HRW report on the clashes in Kasese district in November 2016 in which scores of people were killed.
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We are a reactive society, only crawling out of our shells in the wake of trouble. In July 2010, right after the horrific bomb attack on two clubs in Kampala where people were watching the last game of the World Cup, the police chief had ordered that all installations must have a security guard or policeman, who will ensure that everybody entering the building is thoroughly checked. Seven years later, askaris wave you into the building without even getting their bottoms off their chair, and if they do, it is a 'very' perfunctory check; anybody and everybody can freely access taxi parks and markets; they do not overturn bags to check their contents. Police only act tough when a dignitary is around, and anyway, they don't pat you down or check between your legs.
But when something happens, then we swing into action and start making all sorts of orders. Reacting. Not pro-acting. In a week we will have forgotten all about Andrew, and life will go back to its old, comfortable, normal self. People will have cried their eyes out, Facebook posts will return to “Look at the lunch I am having”, and pictures of “My beautiful kids on holiday”; someone will be acting nice to the boss in the hope that he can take Kaweesi’s job.
Rest in Peace Andrew Felix Kaweesi. Killed in your prime...
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