The unveiling of the new Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) uniform at the recent Independence Day celebrations is a grotesque and dangerous step in the regime’s relentless militarization of every state institution. This so-called “bold” camouflage pattern of orange, maroon, brown, and beige is nothing more than an authoritarian costume, a pathetic attempt to shroud the reality of oppression in a ridiculous disguise. Let’s not mince words here—this is yet another despicable effort by the regime to turn Uganda into a godforsaken police state where even prison officers resemble soldiers straight out of a dystopian nightmare. Frank Baine, the UPS spokesman, and his sidekick Commissioner General Johnson Byabashaija should be ashamed of their roles in normalizing this abhorrent militarization.
Baine’s dismissive response to the public’s justified outrage is both infuriating and absurd. He claims the uniform is for “specific activities,” such as escorting “hardcore criminals” and VVIPs, as if these activities somehow justify dressing prison officers like soldiers from a third-rate army. Who the hell are these so-called “hardcore criminals”? Is the regime trying to convince us that prisoners need to be escorted like they’re bloody terrorists? The truth is, this uniform isn’t about security; it’s about intimidation, plain and simple. It’s about flexing the government’s muscles, reminding every Ugandan that they are just one misstep away from being policed by thugs in camouflage.
The idea that the design of the uniform has no bearing on militarization is a load of utter rubbish. Baine’s ridiculous assertion that “clothes cannot change the mindset of a person” insults our intelligence. What does he think we are? Blind sheep who will swallow this nonsense whole? The government knows damn well the psychological impact that militarized uniforms wield—they are symbols of authority and control, used to cow the population into submission. The Uganda Prisons Service, an institution that should focus on rehabilitation, is now draped in uniforms that scream oppression: Uganda is a prison itself, and we, the people, are the inmates.
Baine also had the audacity to proclaim that the new uniform is being made by Nytil in Jinja, as if local production somehow sanitizes this madness. The real question Ugandans should be asking is why our hard-earned taxpayer money is being squandered on the militarization of the prison system. Is there any accountability for this scandalous expenditure, or are they too busy lining their pockets under the guise of “safety and security”?
In reality, this is just another vile trick up Museveni’s dirty sleeve—yet another camouflage-clad cog in his dictatorship’s oppressive machinery. The Uganda Prisons Service is no longer about justice or rehabilitation; it has devolved into an extension of the militarized regime, patrolling Ugandans as if we’re on a battlefield. And make no mistake—this uniform rollout is just the beginning. Soon, we’ll see them parading down the streets, blurring the lines between prison officers, police, and soldiers, all while the regime tightens its suffocating grip on the nation.
This regime has lost all sense of shame. They are militarizing institutions that should protect citizens’ rights, transforming Uganda into a fortress of fear, where every entity—from the police to the prisons—now resembles a military unit. Ugandans must not be fooled by Baine’s flimsy justifications. This uniform is more than just a piece of fabric; it is a grotesque symbol of the dictatorship’s transformation of our country into a land where every corner is monitored by uniformed thugs ready to crush dissent. The UPS’s new uniform is a brazen reminder that in Museveni’s Uganda, we are all prisoners of the regime, and they will stop at nothing to ensure we remain shackled under their tyrannical rule.
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