Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire has scoffed at Security Minister, Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde, and Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura for putting their personal differences out in the public realm which he said is uncivil and incites the public.
Otafiire made the comment on Wednesday while speaking to journalists, after appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights.
He said the two Generals ought to exhibit some level of civilization, part of which should entail sitting down to sort their issues amicably.
“People have differences, and I used to have a lot of differences with my brother [John Patrick Amama] Mbabazi, but for us, we never put them [issues] in the press,” Otafiire said.
“We had differences and concurrence. Where we agreed, we worked together and where we disagreed, you know… we used to have differences but we were civilized,” he added.
The rift between the Police chief, Kayihura and the Security Minister, Tumukunde has for long been public knowledge. It is said that their antagonism stems back from 2005 when Gen Kayihura oversaw the arrest of Henry Tumukunde and his subsequent prosecution in the military court martial for abuse of office and spreading harmful propaganda.
Their fractious relations were recently deepened in the wake of an increasing military crackdown on criminal gangs in the city against a backdrop of allegations of police collusion with criminal elements.
Although there are fears among sections of the public that the continued bickering between Tumukunde and Kayihura could further undermine national security, Otafiire disagrees on the basis that the disagreements notwithstanding, both of them are executing their work as required by law and government.
“If you find two people agreeing all the time, it means one of them is stupid. But they should not put their differences in the public, my differences with Mbabazi never incited the public,” Otafiire said.
Recently, President Museveni warned officers in the security agencies against bickering, vowing to have them jailed.
“The infighting is between individuals, but not the security organs. It’s a big problem which will be sorted out. You have seen that some of them have gone to Luzira and many of them will see themselves in prison if they don’t reform. It’s going to be resolved,” the President told the press at a news conference a week ago.