On Tuesday, the newly appointed Inspector General of Police Martins Okoth Ochola has made yet issued a force reorganization order. Ochoa has merged the Oil and Gas with Directorate of counter-terrorism forming a division of oil and gas.
Supervision of Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Criminal case file tracking task force reverts and Supervision of flying squad revert to the Directorate of CID to mention but a few.
An expert in human rights and police affairs Nicholas Opio has hinted on the first beneficiaries of the new changes citing an example of highly qualified lawyer Fred Mirondo who was transferred from CID in Kibuli because he did not agree with his boss on arresting activists who were holding a press conference.
Although Ochola’s changes are timely, experts say that it is a sign that for over 13 years, there were the unresolved differences between Ochola and his boss Gen. Kayihura
Ochola who has barely spent a week in office has a huge task of clearing what Opio who authored a consultancy report on viable police reforms argues that Ochola’s new changes will build confidence within the bigger part of the over 40,0000 policemen.
Although Ochola might not have enough time to transform the police from a paramilitary police into a pro-people police, Opio believes it is right time diffuse police from politics.
Besides doing the right job at the right time, experts say that Ochola needs to make more reforms that will form a more formidable police faced with a litany of security challenges.