Exclusive: Norman Musinga Fought Police Traffic Director Before Sacking

At the weekend, the Inspector General of Police, John Martins Okoth Ochola caused a reshuffle in the Traffic Police Directorate.

According to the changes Norman Musinga, who has been the Kampala Metropolitan Traffic Police commander was reverted from the directorate and appointed the Regional Police Commander (RPC) for Rwenzori West.

The transfers have also seen Rogers Nsereko Kawuma appointed as the new Kampala Metropolitan Traffic Police commander.

The latest changes also saw Israel Wambesyo appointed as the KMP deputy Traffic commander whereas Moses Mutabingwa who was the head of the alert squad under the Directorate of Traffic, was sent to Mbale as the Elgon Regional Traffic Officer and replaced by Anthony Nkesiga.

By the appointment, Faridah Nampiima is the new Traffic Directorate Spokesperson and replaced Charles Ssebambuulidde.

The changes have also seen ACP Ben Mubangizi appointed as the Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy commander to replace Denis Namuwoza who was recently appointed as the police commissioner in charge of police operations sitting at the Police headquarters in Naguru.

In other changes, former head of parliamentary police, Henry Kintu was sent to Kisoro as District Police Commander and replaced by Stephen Agaba whereas Rogers Sseguya was appointed as the deputy Regional Police Commander in charge of Kampala South.

MUSINGA

Whereas the changes are normal, Musinga’s reversion caught the eyes of many. He had mastered his craft and did his job really well, and in the police’s most important region, Kampala Metropolitan Area.

As such, his reversion and deployment to Rwenzori left many with questions.

However, well-placed sources say Musinga went physical with his boss and senior, the Traffic and Road Safety Director, Lawrence Nuwabiine.

The fight, eyewitnesses say, left juniors at the stairs of the police headquarters looking away either in respect or in shame.

“He (Musinga) disagreed with his boss. It ended in a physical fight on the stairs. Junior officers, mainly bodyguards and counter terrorism officers either looked away in respect or in in shame,” an eyewitness told this investigative news site.

This news site could not independently verify the cause of the fight.

However, insiders say the incident could have prompted Musinga’s reversion and deployment outside of Kampala for the first time in a long time.

It is important to note that the Police headquarters, Naguru, where the fight was, houses over 95% of the force’s directorates and also houses the offices of the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

NOT NEW TO CONTROVERSIES

In 2012, Musinga, then the Central Police Station Commander, was suspended following the escape of a suspect who was arrested for shooting into a crowd during an opposition rally in Namungoona, a Kampala suburb.

Andrew Felix Kaweesi (RIP), the then Kampala Metropolitan Police Director ordered for the suspension of DPC Musinga as investigations continued into his conduct.

A Daily Monitor story of 2012 shows that Musinga handed over the office to the then Kampala South Regional Police Commander, Philip Acaye.
A police source, who preferred anonymity for fear of reprimand, had told the Daily Monitor that Musinga was being investigated for charges related to the release of a suspect.

The suspension of Musinga stemmed from an incident that happened when a man dressed in civilian clothes shot live bullets at members of Activists for Change (A4C) during a rally in Namungoona on January 24, 2012

According to the story published February 11, 2012, Kaweesi, who was at the scene, ordered the commander of the Field Force Unit, Superintendent (SP) Christopher Kasalawo, to arrest him.

“SP Kasalawo arrested him on charges of illegal possession of a firearm and theft of a gun and handed him over to DPC Musinga for detention,” a source told Sunday Monitor.

But a day later, the suspect was allegedly released yet the Resident State Attorney had already sanctioned the two charges in the file, a police source said.

The story says that Kaweesi gave Musinga four days to look and re-arrest the suspect but these elapsed without results thus the former invoked the law and suspended Musinga.