To Break Free

In the cool breeze of a Friday evening at Namboole national sports stadium in the surbub of Kampala city, just at the turn from the Mandela sports hotel, I was welcomed by the defening silence which had my gut send a warning down my spine "something is not right". I looked behind me and saw no soul coming, same thing with the front, I moved to the middle of the road increased on my pace.

"Hey". I turned to see where the voice was coming from only to see a man of an average height and medium built in a police uniform emerging from behind a tree by the roadside. I looked behind to make sure that I was not being surrounded by his group or that someone was coming so that I would count on for help incase of anything. I greeted him in the manner that you would a traffic officer, "hello affande(police officer ), good evening". He came and blocked my way. "Where is your national identity card?" My heart jumping up and down, I relaxed a bit as he is a police officer and told him that I did not have it and he asked me why and I told him that I never got it. "Open your bag and I see" he asked me in an impatient harsh voice which made the caressing of the wind on my cheek hurt. I unzipped the bag and he looked inside with his big hand searching roughly. "Now close your bag and follow me" I asked to where and he says to wait for the police patrol pick up. I took a few steps beside him just to the side of the road and saw no police car nor police tents pegged down their usual place. I wanted to splint like Bolt when I realized that this man did not have a name tag, a police badge on his cap and that he was wearing anti-terrorist police uniform. I looked around but no one was coming and yet it was only eight in the evening. I wanted to scream but I knew nobody would hear me and I was too afraid to run as I was numb. I calmly told him I was not going down that place with him. "You want to be stubborn?, you think you are so special?" He pulled out a small phone from his breast pocket and made a call which I knew was make say "yes" to everything he would say. "So you have heard, I have to take you down there so that we wait for the police car". I am not going with you, we either wait for it from here or at the main entrance to the stadium.

Finally a man was passing by, I called out to him for help, he came quickly that I was extremely scared that he was an accomplice to this "officer" who resfused to show me his police identity card calling it silly thing and getting angry that I had the nerve to ask him in the manner he asked me. The man asked what was going on and I told him this "officer" is not letting me go because I do not have my national identity card. He in turn asked the "officer" who stated, "These are the people who killed Kaweesi (the inspector general of police who was assassinated last Wednesday" I was shocked, scared and angry at the same time. With tears rolling down cheeks, I explained to this helper that I was going for an over night prayer inside the stadium which seem untrue to the "officer" because it is for a small group which made the place devoid of people. "Officer, why don't you let her go, she seem to be telling the truth, let it be a warning to her but let her go". The helper said this while removing taking off my hand from the grip of the "officer". "Go away or else I will arrest you as well" the helper was shouted out, but he played dambe and insisted that this "officer " should let me go. "I will put a bullet right in that big head of yours, so get lost or you join her" the "officer" said and kicked the helper on the leg. The helper simply left. I knew in my head that this guy would hurt me in one way or the other so I had to fight for myself. I wanted to sit down and cry the more but I had to be strong. I dried my eyes and pulled myself together and boldly told him that I was not going with him anywhere near the swamp but would wait for the police car from where we were.

A lot more people started passing and I kept calling out for help but all those who stopped were threatened with arrest and so all walked away wondering whether we were a couple having a misunderstanding. I turned to this man who now controlled me. I reminded him that those passing by might not have their national identity card and he should ask them as well. He looked at me angrily and turned his face away. "Come with me, we are going to wait from the hotel". We crossed the road and walked a short distance behind us and found some men seated outside the gate. I went and sat beside one of them and turned to the "officer" and told him that we would for the police car from out there as I was not ready to enter in the hotel. "What is going on here?" One of the men asked and the "officer" told him we were waiting for a police car. Nobody said anything related to the issue at hand but continued with their causal conversations. I silently prayed that God would manifest himself as I had given up on all possibilities of getting away from this "officer" just in a few minutes, the gatekeeper to the hotel came in his maroon security uniform and asked what I was doing among those men, before I could answer him, the "officer" told him I did not have a national identity card and that we were waiting for a police car to pick me up. I stood up and told the gatekeeper that I showed this man my other identies like hospital card, university identity card but he did not want to believe and that I was on my way for an over night prayer. He turned to the "officer" and told him to let me go but he refused and told the gatekeeper that I was with a boyfriend who fled and that we were the people who killed Kaweesi. The gatekeeper held my hand and took me to the road and said you can go and pray and turned to the"officer" and told him not to follow me.

I reached the main gate and told the asikari (gatekeeper) what happened to me and he promised to be alert as there were no police in the area that night.

I thought of how I could have been one of the ladies reported news the weeks which followed my encounter with this "police". These women went missing or murded and damped.