The Umukuka of Bamasaba, His Royal Highness Jude Mike Mudoma, has lauded the Uganda Police leadership in the Elgon region for excellently managing the Imbalu celebrations. They made significant deployments and conducted radio sensitizations to inform the Bamasaba people on how to celebrate their culture peacefully.
He appealed to the Inspector General of Police to consider awarding extra ranks to the officers for their stellar performance as a motivational gesture, noting that in public service, hard work usually merits recognition. His Royal Highness further observed that ACP Rubanza, the police surgeon in the Elgon region, Senior Superintendent of Police Mr. Bosco Otim, the Elgon Regional Police Commander, Crime Intelligence Officer for Elgon Superintendent of Police Mr. Charles Wakube, and Police Spokesperson Mr. Rogers Taitika, along with the DISO, RISO chief in the Elgon region, and the UPDF team under Lt. Col. Okiror, including all the District and City Police Commanders, were very humble officers who worked day and night to ensure that Imbalu 2024 was crime-free. Their commitment to serving our community has impressed us as Bamasaba people, and we therefore recommend their promotion to the IGP and the President of Uganda, the Umukuka stated while addressing his top ministers in Inzuymasaba a few days ago.
The RCCs of Mbale City were also heavily involved in determining security deployments. “I am impressed,” he concluded.
The holding cells that had been established at places like the Mutoto cultural site are now empty and have been closed. We had anticipated a possibility of hooliganism, but due to constant dissemination of information, people listened and avoided crimes during this Imbalu season. Police Spokesperson Taitika mentioned this on BCU Radio recently.
In Uganda, massive deployments of security are often associated with inhibiting political activism by politicians who are normally restrained from accessing their constituents. However, during the 2024 Imbalu launch, such security was necessary to bring order, given the thousands of Ugandans present. Security was required to ensure order.
In the history of Masabaland, this was the most watched and celebrated Imbalu launch. Senior Superintendent of Police in the Elgon region, Mr. Bosco Otim, was on standby 24/7 with his team.
The general security architecture aimed to ensure that the cultural site was properly secured. Covert security personnel were integrated within the civilian population to gather intelligence that could help gauge the mindset of the people. Any information perceived to be against the Imbalu launch could be picked up, critically evaluated, and used to guide security deployment. Community policing was also part of the security architecture to provide useful intelligence.
The Elgon police leadership assembled their best. We had the police and UPDF, including other information-gathering units like ISO. Security meetings held at Inzuymasaba were well-attended by the top brass of the police, led by the RPC Senior Superintendent of Police Mr. Bosco Otim. Other attendees included the District Police Commanders of various districts in Bugisu, Elgon Crime Intelligence Unit represented by Mr. Charles Wakube, Police Elgon Region Spokesperson Mr. Rogers Taitika, and the UPDF led by Lt. Col. Okiror and his team, including Afande Muhwezi and the Regional Intelligence Officer for Elgon. District Internal Security Officers, Officers Kimono and Zainab of Uganda, among others, also executed their duties well.
Dr. Rubanza, the police pathologist, was always part of the security architecture, coordinating with his colleagues to ensure everything was in order and was ready to attend to any Imbalu accident-related victim.
Inzuymasaba, in conjunction with the Uganda Police, established a strong combined public relations desk on various media platforms like radios and TVs, ensuring the information reached every corner of Masabaland.
The 2022 Imbalu launch had many issues; this time, there were none of that nature due to the excellent deployment.
Steven Masiga is the Spokesperson for Inzuymasaba. Tel: 0782-231-577
