I'm a commander first, not a woman – RPC Nachuha

At the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police, many people in the Teso sub-region are still in awe of the simple lifestyle of Damalie Nachuha, the Regional Police Commander (RPC) of the East Kyoga police region.

The 43-year-old police officer is currently the only female RPC in Uganda and the second to serve in East Kyoga. The region she commands covers the districts of Soroti, Serere, Amuria, Bukedea, Kaberamaido, Katakwi, Kumi, Napak and Ngora. 

“Although they initially did not support my decision to join the police force, my parents are proud of me. I can see it in them. I think they now have a sense of security as well, because if someone wishes to harm them, they are informed that they have a daughter who is powerful,” she says.

The feeling among the people is that an RPC has to move with a couple of armed escorts, just like some of the previous RPCs did with pomp. However, Nachuha embraces a calm lifestyle both at the office and in the public domain. Rarely seen in police vans, she drives herself in an ordinary car.

“While I am proud of my achievements, I thank God for promoting me to this level. When I remember the village girl I was, clearly, it has not been my own strength that has brought me here. Many people grew up in better places and had better lives but they could not make it. I also appreciate the appointing authority for recognizing me,” Nachuha says. 

Her belief is that in policing, the stick should come last after the carrot – dialogue – has failed.  “I do not believe in holding the whip. In all situations that I have come across in my line of duty, I endeavor as much as possible to give dialogue a chance, before other measures in the line of the professional code of conduct of police are applied,” she explains. The mother of three, who replaced Rusoke Kituuma, now serving as the spokesperson for Uganda Police Force, says anyone who has ever paid a courtesy call to her office at the regional police headquarters can attest to the fact that her office is extremely busy. “I do not find joy in rushing into conclusions. I pride myself in listening to all the conflicting parties at a round table before I give my opinion,” she says.

Work-life balanceThere are about 10,000 female police officers in the almost 40,000-strong Uganda Police Force, and like any other job, the life of a female police officer has challenges that are unique to the job. 

“I may not mention the general challenges (of being a police officer), but the main one is how to balance home, the children, a husband, my private work and my public work. Traditionally, the perception of a woman is that of a housewife, yet I work long hours,” Nachuha says.

She adds that being good at time management, being a professional and having an understanding family is key to success in this field. 

“What we go through as police officers definitely affects the people at home. Recently, during the FEASA games, I was commuting from Soroti City to Bukedea district every day. Sometimes, I would drive on to Mbale City. I always returned home late. One night I was raining heavily and as I approached home I wondered if my daughter would hear me,” she says. 

Currently, Damalie Nachuha is the only female Regional Police Commander in the country. PHOTO/ SIMON PETER EMWAMU

Her daughter heard the car and came out of the house to welcome her. “As I was planning to exit the car, someone appeared at the door with an umbrella. That means she could not sleep until I returned. I realised my late nights were having an effect on the family.”  

Despite being in a male-dominated profession Nachuha says she has not faced any form of gender-based discrimination. She adds that treating people with respect matters.

“If you approach people, telling them, ‘I am a woman, let me show you,’ you will fail. There is no showing in this thing (police work). It is all about teamwork. You know what to do and communicate to the team about what is to be done and how it is to be done. They will follow orders without hesitation, whether you are a woman or not,” she says. 

The officer says she sometimes forgets what she is a woman, especially when she is commanding.

“I take myself as a commander, not a woman. And a commander is a commander. The moment you front with the idea that you are a woman, then stereotypes will begin cropping in. When members of the public come to my office and say, ‘RPC, you are a woman! That is great!’ I feel energised,” she says.

On joining the police force The assistant commissioner of police comes from a humble background in Bwihala village, Busaba sub-county in Butaleja district in Eastern Uganda. She is the sixth of eight children born to Eric John Haumba, a retired Church of Uganda lay reader, and Edinansi Alice Wagera. 

“I did not dream of being a police officer. There were very few incidents of crime in the village so there were very few police officers among us. I grew up in a setting where the common professions were teaching, medicine and engineering. I knew I wanted to be a teacher,” she says.

Nachuha attended Buhe Primary School for her primary education, which she completed at Busaba Primary School. She took her O’Level education at Rock High School in Tororo district, before joining Bukoyo Secondary School in Iganga district for her A’Levels. 

She joined Makerere University on government sponsorship. In 2004, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Education degree specialising in Religious Education and Geography. She was posted to Busaba Seed Secondary School, where she was the only teacher. It was there that she developed an interest in joining the police force.

“My cousin, who was living in Kampala at the time, visited me and told me the police had advertised for cadets. I asked him what ‘cadets’ were. After he explained, I applied and he brought the application to Kampala,” she says. 

Nachuha adds that the decision to leave her teaching job was not an easy one, after she learnt that police officers work all hours. 

“There was some freedom in the teaching profession. You go to school at 8am and start teaching at 8.30am. When you leave the school at 5pm you are free to do as you please the whole evening. When I heard that police officers work day and night without holiday, I began to ask myself if I would manage. I had to make a decision. And I was encouraged by some relatives,” she reminisces. 

The low levels of discipline among students at the time, who were getting acquainted with their rights and had little awe for the ‘almighty teacher phenomenon,’ were also a push factor. 

“They call them planned kids, sijui dotcom children. These children can threaten to beat up a teacher. How could I teach such children? You know, as a teacher you want to have authority. Now, here you are with a child who tells you off and you cannot beat him. It made me feel bad. I felt the police had some more authority than the teaching profession,” she says. 

Her parents were not happy with her decision to join the police, though. The confirmation that she had been shortlisted came almost at the same time with her appointment letter as a government teacher.

“I went to visit them on the evening I received the confirmation. Of course, they knew I had applied to join the police but they were skeptical, asking how I would manage since there was no holiday time in the force. My mother was against it and asked my father to decide. My dad could not make up his mind whether to support me or not,” Nachuha says.

She called her sister in Kampala for backup and ended up talking to her brother-in-law who asked her if she had the transport fare to Kampala. He told her to borrow from friends if she did not have the money.

“I took that as support. In 2007, I traveled to Kampala without informing anyone at the school. I did not know what I was getting into or how tough the training would be. But, I decided to give it a try and if things failed, I still had my appointment letter as a government teacher,” she recalls. 

The police officer says the cadet training was not a walk in the park. After a month at the Police Training School in Kabalye, Masindi district, she wanted to escape. 

“There was a time when it was so cold. It rained on us at night and the cold is my biggest challenge in life. I said to myself that by this time I should be in my four by six bed. I remembered my mom’s statements, telling me that teaching was better. That night, I wondered if this was the life I had signed up for – staying out in the rain at night while others were sleeping in their warm beds,” she says. 

That is when the thought of escaping began to grow in her mind. However, the huddle was that all her documents were kept in the administration block and she could not access it. 

“I knew that they had not yet declared me absent at the school I was teaching in. I could always explain my absence. But, there was always talk at the Training School that if one escaped and was captured, the punishments would be severe. That scared me,” Nachuha adds.

Nachuha’s first posting as an RPC was in the Aswa police region. She encourages young women to join the police force only if they are focused on professionalism.

“You must have passion for this kind of work because the hours are long. Sometimes, you feel weighed down by the tasks. Some join without the passion but thankfully we go through patriotism classes. It is good for women to join because we make a difference wherever we are posted. Sometimes, you can be like a mother and other times, you are a tough commander. We have the special grace to be committed and dedicated to our jobs,” she says. 

Nachuha has a Masters degree in Peace, Security and Governance from the University of Peace in Costa Rica, the only institution within the United Nations system mandated exclusively for peace education. She hopes to acquire a doctorate.

What others say about her“She has shown that she is liberal in her work relations with the public. For the time she has been around, she has participated in our civil society engagements or delegated a representative. Article 221 of the Constitution of Uganda requires all security agencies to respect human rights and freedoms while performing their duties.”Benson EkweExecutive Director, Public Affairs Center Uganda 

“No corruption allegation has been registered against the person of the RPC for the time she has been here. Overtime, women have been known for being very meticulous with their work and that is the true definition of Nachuha. I am sure she got her posting on merit. There is a drop in crime in Soroti City for now and that is a plus to the peace lovers in this urban setting.Willy BisangaNational Resistance Movement (NRM) chairperson, Soroti City 

“She gives an audience to people irrespective of their status in the community and respects their rights. She has walked the talk in terms of restoring security. People who were suspected of robbing night travelers and vandalising security lights were rounded up and are on remand. She has given the media fraternity a listening ear. If the public relations officer for East Kyoga is not available, she steps in to give us whatever information we need,”Stephen Ojacor, Freelance Journalist