ILLEGAL?
Busiro East MP Medard Lubega Sseggona insists the move by NEC is illegal and contravenes Articles 209 and 210 of Uganda’s Constitution. Under Article 209 of the Constitution, the UPDF has a function of preserving and defending the territorial integrity of Uganda.
Sseggona added that the decision by NEC to form a private security company (NSSL) confirms claims that the UPDF is not a national army as it is supposed to be.
He said: “The UPDF is not a national army. It is an army that belongs to an individual and it is being exploited by that individual. The only problem with this army is that the individual who has decided to engage in trading security is using our resources. A national army is meant to defend and protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a country.”
Although speaking with tongue in cheek, Sseggona wondered how the NEC-led private security company would be controlled by a police force that already has military elements.
“It is a public secret that the army has taken over the police. How then shall the army be able to regulate itself since it is now trading in providing private security?” he said on Monday.
Among the active soldiers in the Uganda Police Force are Maj Gen Katsigazi Tumusiime, the deputy IGP; Maj Gen Abel Kandiho, the joint chief of staff of Police; Brig Christopher Ddamulira, the Crime Intelligence Director, among others.
Private security companies are regulated under the Police Act, 1994, and the Control of Private Security Organisations Regulations, 1997. Under statutory instrument No. 11 of 2013, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) supervises and regulates the activities of private security organisations in Uganda.
Interviewed, the police spokesperson Fred Enanga said: “Let me consult with our legal team”.
Enanga had not reverted by press time. While appearing on NBS The Frontline on July 20, 2023, the former Leader of Opposition, Winnie Kiiza said the UPDF was now being turned into a hired machinery of private security in Uganda.
“Before you know it, they will be telling Ugandans that anyone who intends to have guards should only go through the UPDF private security company”.
During a heated July 18, 2023 parliamentary session led by Speaker Anita Among, Gen James Mugira, the chief executive officer of NEC, said the new security company (NSSL) is a subsidiary of the NEC. Mugira emphasized that the NSSL would be offering private security services to Ugandan businesses and projects.
“It is not the UPDF that is going to do the guarding,” Mugira said.
Subsequently, Among directed that the minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja, provide a statement to parliament on the activities and legality of NEC-owned NSSL. Now that parliament has been adjourned till further notice due to the unclear direction of local council elections, it remains unclear when the minister’s statement will be presented to parliament.
Away from the private security company, the NEC has ventured into several private firms like Uzima mineral water, a livestock farm in Kiryandongo, Luweero Industries and the UPDF Engineering Brigade, among others. These subsidiaries operate as separate private companies, generating income to sustain their operations.
EXPERT TAKE
Interviewed for this story, retired senior police officer AIGP Asan Kasingye, who doubles as the director of Tayari Security, a private security company, said it was okay for the security company to operate if its operations are within the law and NSSL has been fully evaluated and registered by the competent authorities.
Kasingye added: “If the recruited and trained guards are retired UPDF officers now under Veterans Affairs, then I have no qualms. Private and non-commissioned officers retire as early as 45 years of age or even younger.”
“Therefore, these veterans can be useful in both the private and local government sectors instead of idling in villages, as some of them find it difficult to integrate into their home society. As long as NSSL does not utilize government funds in its operations or take advantage of others in terms of access to firearms or contracts, I have no problem at all. It will be bad, for example, if the government announces that all government or private sectors in which the government has shares must only get security cover from NSSL. We must have an equal opportunity based on our capacity to deliver private security services”.
Kasingye noted that there was a need for the private security sector to be strengthened since it supports national security.
He said, “If the private security sector remains weak, the national security forces will be forced to fill the gaps. This means that the focus on national security will diminish. That’s not what the policy on private security wishes to see. NSSL should set a pace for which other private firms must compete, like in training, discipline, welfare, and pay, among others. It has to stand out and be the benchmark for the rest”.
On whether the entry of a private security company like NSSL might take away business from other private security players, Kasingye said: “The demand for private security is huge, yet the supply, especially with quality services, is shrinking. The question of usurping the market should, therefore, not be a problem. Some of the private security firms on the market must up their game. Business overrides professionalism and robust service delivery.”
“How can a security firm train a guard in one hour, arm him, and pay him Shs 150,000 for which he must pay for his uniform, meals, transport and accommodation, to ensure that these guards provide security at the highest level? This is where NSSL comes in. They must set the pace for improved private security provision in this country.”
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