Egaali is a Luganda euphemism applied to denote organized thuggery. It is a group of goons organized to spread fear in the populace. Different groups portray it differently. There are street goons who move in groups mugging and stealing valuables from their victims. There is another group that presents itself as a security detail of celebs like musicians and socialites. On the surface they look like a team providing security but the reality is that it is a counter force to teams of another celebrity. Due to rivalry in the music industry, any time these meet, there are skirmishes that sometimes turn bloody.
There is a new political Egaali in town. This one is run by NUP to intimidate those perceived to be anti-Bobi Wine. It is a marauding mob of riffraff with a sole aim of showcasing their unbridled support to the pulinsipo. Their behavior is turning into a security threat. They don’t follow traffic rules in their processions, they attack other road users, they loot merchandise from roadside traders and sometimes apply force to have their way. This is a dangerous trend in our politics.
The emergence of this Egaali has a lot of security and political ramifications to the public. The first, unless the security agencies swing into action, these groups are likely to morph into gangsters. Countries that are facing gangster menace, started the same way this Egaali is forming. Most Caribbean countries experiencing the menace of street gangs relate their origin to organized groups like Egaali. What we see happening in the streets these days, where kids of about 15 years mugging and robbing people, is the formative stage of gangster menace. In Haiti, Jimmy Cherizier alas ‘barbecue’ the leader of the G9 federation gangsters, the equivalent of Egaali, was originally a street kid who became a petty thief snatching bags on the streets. By the time he got mature, he had built a gang force capable of creating a no-go territory, where no security force could step. He has formed a terror group that extorts money from the public as a security fund and whoever fails to pay, is attacked and either killed or kidnapped and the ransom is ten times the amount that would have been paid as security fee. He has divided the country into different administrative units under him with structures to collect levies. In effect he has a government within a government. It is this kind of outfit that is forming up in some parts of the city. In Kampala, there are some no-go areas because of the threat of these thugs. The striking characteristic of these formations is that of moving in large groups (Egaali), such that when they attack, the victim has no chance of fleeing. You have to be lucky to survive their vicious attack. They undergo marshal arts training during the day as they prepare for darkness to apply their skills on victims.
The most chilling thing is that some of them have grown up in communities, they are well known to the local leadership and police, but little has been done to curb the vice due to fear of the repercussions in case of revenge attack. The local community chooses to keep quiet for fear of reprisals. Police and other security agencies need to take a firm stand on these groups. The challenge is that most of the perpetrators are juvenile and can’t be jailed in regular prisons, so they are let free with minimum reprimand yet they are a threat in spite of their teen age. When they are released, the cycle of thuggery re-starts till the next interception by police.
The Egaali of celebrities takes a different formation. It is a show of power and affluence to their rivals, however, this power takes different shades. One is that the many numbers you move with, the more powerful you are portrayed and capable of starting any fight just in case two rival groups meet. Musicians with a fair fan base move with hordes of these hangers-on just to scare rivals. In many instances, these gangs have ended up in street fights with disastrous effects. If these acts aren’t checked now, it may be hard to contain them in future.
The most deadly Egaali presently is that of politicians. This is done with impunity, flouting all known rules, directly confronting the police and behaving like Uganda is a Stateless society. There are two salient features to this Egaali. It hides behind politics while pushing the violence agenda, physically attacking opponents. They send direct threats to perceived or real opponents. The problem is that they do it with firm backing of politicians. When the long arm of the law catches up with them, the leaders are quick to dismiss it as political perception. The human rights activists run narratives that those breaking the law are exercising their right to assemble and a political witch-hunt.
The second feature of this group is the feeling that anyone with a divergent opinion within the party should be banished and castigated as a mole of the government. The best example is the Mpuuga tiff with Bobi Wine. The Egaali has been employed to wage war on him. It is now clear that where one side is holding a public gathering, each side must have Egaali in attendance. This played out in Masaka at the burial ceremony where blows were exchanged.
The threat posed by these budding gangs must be curtailed before they get out of hand. The age factor of juvenile gangs must be analysed by security agencies to find a way around it, otherwise at that tender age, they are as lethal as their mature counterparts. The judicial system must come up with a provision to handle hardcore young criminals.
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