Rakai CID on the spot for Tanzania cattle smuggling, causing FMD Outbreak

Residents of Kamuli Sub County, Rakai District, south central region of the country have accused the officer in charge of criminal investigations in the area Denis Mbaine of being a stambling block towards the eradication of the dangerous foot and mouth disease in cattle.

Mbaine is also accused of aiding the smuggling of cattle from Tanzania to Uganda, which animals contaminate the Ugandan Aminal Industry with Foot and Mouth Disease, leaving people in the area suffering with a long spell of a quarantine and unable to trade.

Richard Kusasira, a resident in Kamuli Sub County told this website that, Mbaine, using officers within the force he leads, has continously engaged self in cattle trading from Tanzania through porous borders and leaves all other people in the area without trading.

“He keeps buying such cattle from Tanzania. Each time he buys, the animals come through porous borders and end up mixing with ours wirh hooves leaving several places contaminated with FMD. Whenever the NAGRC & DB officials come, they still find Rakai and Kyotera with FMD yet we treat our animals to the best of our ability,” Kusasira says.

The Foot and Mouth Disease is one contagious husbandry disease that has for long been disturbing the people in the cattle corridle. The disturbance has caused a reduction of the supply of cattle and the bi products from the areas despite districts such as Kiruhura, Kalangala, Ssembabule, Bukomansimbi and Lyantonde quarantine lifted.

Each time a quarantine is instituted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheris, it takes more than six months for the same Ministry to evaluate if there is need to lift the ban.

The Quarantine in Rakai and nearby Kyotera District was instituted in 2020, barring all bi products and animals from being transported outside the borders of Rakai and Kyotera leaving several residents in absolute poverty since only a handful with excessive power can trade.

Such quarantine left an uproar amongst residents, prompting the attention of then Security Minister Gen Elly Tumwine who visited the border districts, prompting action including the arrest of a District Veterinary Officer.

However, several residents cried out that the arrested officer remained a diversion since the real people behind the smuggling of cattle and continued spread of the foot and mouth disease remained scot free.

Well as the Ministry of Agriculture instituted a vaccination exercise for the cattle, it remains unclear whether the available vaccines would be enough for people and the more than 160,000 herds of cattle that keep being contaminated by cows smuggled with FMD from Tanzania.

The residents now accuss the Officer in Charge of Criminal Investigations within the area for being the brain behind the continued spread of the disease since he allegedly trades from Tanzania, an area that has had the disease for a long period of time, without vaccination.

They now want the Inspector General of Police and the Regional Police Commander to immediately investigate hold the officer accountable for engaging in such illicit trade, said to be causing untold suffering to the dwellers in the area.

“He has been here sincd 2015. He has mastered the trade and seems to be working with several other senior officers. Instead they leave us suffering and we even fail to get local revenue,” says a District Official in Rakai who asked not to be named.

In 2016, the CID Officer, Mr Mbaine arrested a journalist, Mr Ivan Kimbowa, then working with the Daily Monitor on grounds that he had been taking photos of the smuggled cattle from Tanzania.

He also accused Kimbowa of being a spy despite having introduced himself with an identification card that clearly indicated, he (Kimbowa) worked for the Monitor Publications.

Residents have also claimed he works closely with other state agents especially in the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution to allegedly take files ready for prosecution from court.

When contacted, Afande Denis Mbaine’s known telephone contact could not be reached by the time of publishing this story. However, the Masaka Regional Police Spokesperson’s told this website that all those who accuse the officer of such illicit acts should report at the region or in the Police Professional Standards Unit.

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