The song ‘Afande’ by Kyadondo East member of parliament Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, is an indictment of how police officers are misused to silence dissenting voices by the powers that be. Wine wonders why police use unnecessary force against his kind (read protesters) when all he is doing is fighting for their rights. The less than 4 minutes song mention poor pay among the rank and file of police officers in Uganda as one of the things the 37 year old face of resistance is keen on mending. The melodic yet hard hitting chorus of the song castigate police officers who have brutally arrested the legislator severally.
Here are the lyrics to the chorus:
Sipigani nawe lakini nakupigania Afande,
I am not fighting with you I am fighting for you
Afande sipigani nawe nakupigania
Sipigani nawe lakini nakupigania
Afande napigania maisha yako Kwa sababu unapata mshahara kidogo
Unafanya na bidii unaishi kama maskini
Hata ukialika ni mamaingi ya pole Why?
Even if you do these things under instructions,
You’re a human being
He goes on to translate the same chorus in English:
Whatever, situations oppress us
Oppress you too
You reside in terrible accommodation
Your income is too low
Your people are badly off
When I talk about these things
You torture me, but what for?
The song sums up the poor pay police take home every month.
Here is a breakdown of Uganda Police Officer And Prison Warders
Salary For Year 2018/19
Entry level for a police constable and prison warder/wardress is UGX366,933 which has since gone up to UGX 466,933 ($124 at current exchange rates) per month translating to UGX5,603,194 ($1496.22) per year.
Those in Scale U7 earn:
UGX470,235
UGX473,235
UGX476,930
UGX480,322
UGX483,744
UGX487,199
UGX490,683
UGX494,200
UGX497,748
U6 (Lower)
UGX532,402
UGX531,616
UGX523,432
UGX516,251
UGX508,797
UGX501,493
U6 (Upper)
UGX573,331-Per Year 6,879,970
UGX565,146-Per Year 6,781,746
UGX556,959-Per Year 6,683,506
UGX548,774-Per Year 6,585,282
UGX540,587-Per Year 6,487,043
The lowest entry level officer makes a paltry $1496.22 per annum while the highest pockets UGX6,487,043 ($1732.24) per year.
Also Read: Salary Of Police Officers In Kenya
