SP James Mubi, the spokesperson of Kiira regional police command, lives to remember the April 22, a day he made a momentous decision to join the Uganda Police Force. Mr Mubi now counts ten years while serving the law enforcement institution since 2014.
His decision was not of bandwagon effect but the need to join the rest in ensuring justice for all especially the unprevigiled and marginalised individuals in society, triggered the now 36-year-old policeman to contribute to keeping law and order in the country.
In fact, the passionate officer doesn’t regret joining the force despite his professional career of journalism. He remains determined to serve the police force as he says it was a calling from God.
Mubi’s first deployment was in Mbale at Mbale central police station as a probation officer immediately after the police training school, Kabalye, when he was passed out as a Cadet ASP in 2015.
“At Mbale CPS, the then district police commander (DPC) had groomed me for operations. The OC CID nurtured me for CID work while madam Beatrice Apolot, Rtd ASP, and former OC traffic was always luring me to join traffic department,” Mubi told Busoga Today in an exclusive interview.
Mubi gained popularity when he was posted in Busoga East Region police which houses Iganga, Namutumba, Bugiri, Mayuge, Namayingo, and Bugweri districts as a public relations officer (PRO).
Promoted to a Spretendant of Police (SP), Mubi now serves as the mouse piece of Kiira region police which comprises Jinja city and Jinja district.
“My seniors were all shocked when police headquarters deployed me as a regional PRO. I exhibited capacity to work in the three police departments,” he narrates.
The majority of the ten years of service, the officer has been in the PRO department, excelling in cooperation and coordination with media. His journalism background from Nkumba University was his pathway to the PRO department.
“At Nkumba University, I was one of the serious journalism students. With my colleagues like Philemon Badagawa, Godfrey Ateu, Andrew Kiwanuka, Hellen Butoto (Ssezibwa region police PRO) and David Isabirye (Kawowo Sports chief), we could write stories about campus, Guild leadership and the community. The interesting stories would be published in national newspapers like Observer and New Vision,” said Mubi.
In the ten years Mubi says he has fought crimes, promoted peace and reconciliation, and corruption in addition to promoting the corporate image of police force. He has not only preached transparency and accountability but also bridged the gap between police and the public. This has made Busoga subregion visible.
“I have created a sustainable collaborative network for all stakeholders like politicians, clergy, business community, schools, and universities. This has helped in getting timely feedback from members of the public,” he added.
Like any other security personnel, Mubi has been affected by the police challenges of being at work 24/7, spending most of the time without his family and people’s negative attitude towards police that officers are inhuman and corrupt.
He defends that, “Not all police officers are corrupt. We have officers who are very honest and accountable in their line of duty. Those who fall short of professional conduct are disciplined accordingly.”
Asked when to quit police, the man in uniform says he is waiting for God’s call to leave the institution as it was he was joining.
“When God calls me to serve in politics, I will definitely do it because I can’t object to God’s voice or will. Just like I didn’t object his voice to serve police,” he said before rallying police officers to play for clean exit in terms of investing for the future and life after uniform.
