WHEN CURTAINS FELL OFF DPC BAGUMA

OPINION
BY SIMON AINOMUGISHA

Every journalist who reports from Central police station has a story to tell about the weakened Baguma; full of contempt, very powerful, and arrogant.

I am pretty sure that he doesn’t need a special introduction to appreciate his identity. Ok, for starters, Aaron Baguma is widely known as the former Kampala DPC who last year went to the scene of murder – read Pine car bond, a few metres away from his duty station at Central Police Station, found a city businesswoman Donah Katusabe being beaten by goons hired by the jailed bird Muhammed Ssebufu and despite her pleading to him to rescue her from her tormentors, he simply asked her to pay Ssebuwufu’s debt. As if that was not enough, the same Baguma left the place and Katusabe was killed shortly.

It is against this background that the DPP holds Mr Baguma criminally liable since his duty as a police officer is to protect life and property.

However, it’s been three months now despite the DPP’s directive to police to arrest Baguma and have him charged in courts of law, nothing had happened and he also last week vehemently refused to appear in Buganda road court where he was earlier summoned.

But in a shocking turn of events, the same adamant and arrogant Baguma silently, without the knowledge of the media, swiftly presented himself before Buganda road court where he was charged with murder and then sent to luzira but his lawyer asked court to remand him to Kigo prison for security purposes, a thing that the honorable court granted him.

During his tenure as a Kampala District police commander, Baguma behaved as if the whole world was under his feet. Well, good things cannot go without being mentioned, he presided over the arrests of other prime suspects in the murder of Katusabe and he quelled the opposition riots just like his predecessor James Ruhweza did.

Off from that, when I was a crime reporter, I once called him soliciting for a comment over a story I was filing for one of the daily newspapers about a Makerere University lecturer who had neglected his kids, he instead abused me before asking if I did not have other things to do other than sniffing into others people’s sex lives, I coldly replied “thank you sir, that is a comment also.”

The same intriguing story will be shared to you by one of the female (names withheld) OC’s who commanded the arrest of a tycoon at Mabirizi plaza who had defaulted Shs6m belonging to businesswoman. According to an insider, he said that when the tycoon reached the police station, he dropped Shs1m on the desk of the then DPC Baguma before stepping on the toes of the OC who had arrested him and he walked out scoot free hence leaving the OC crying like a baby. The unkind Baguma asked her if she was the complainant before ordering for her exit in his office!.

Well, his long walk to jail must have been long overdue because a section of the deceased’s family members had put the IGP under pressure to make sure Baguma is produced in court and charged.

It is now Baguma’s turn to pay!

SIMON AINOMUGISHA IS A JOURNALIST BASED IN KAMPALA CITY.

ainomugishasimon@gmail.com