CID Director, AIGP Tom Magambo, speaking at the release of the report in March.
By Francis Otucu
It is not every day that a high-ranking police officer joins an ordinary queue for lunch—let alone stands in it patiently among junior officers.
But on Monday, March 30, 2026, at the Uganda Police Headquarters in Naguru, that is exactly what happened.
The occasion was the launch of the 2025 Crime Report. After nearly two hours of presentations, it was time for lunch. By around 1:30pm, most of the guests—especially senior officers and high-profile officials—had already picked their meals. The VIP section had thinned out, and the remaining line was shorter and less formal.
I joined it.
Ahead of me were members of the police band. It was a calm, ordinary moment. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed AIGP Tom Magambo, the Director of Criminal Investigations, walking toward us.
At first, I assumed he was making routine checks—as organizers often do at such events. But no. He came to join the line.
“How are you doing?” he said, tapping me lightly from behind before taking his place in the queue.
Instinctively, I felt I should step aside and let him go first. But he stopped me.
“Keep in the line,” he said firmly.
What followed was a quiet disruption of the usual order.
Junior officers nearby suddenly looked uneasy. Some shuffled away, unsure how to react. AIGP Magambo noticed.
“There is no AIGP here,” he said, almost casually. “All of us are hungry.”
He spotted a female junior officer who had stepped out of the line in deference.
“Madam,” he called out. “If you want to be my friend, listen to me.”
He guided her back into the queue.
The line stretched for about 20 meters, and for the next several minutes, it moved slowly. Magambo stayed in it—no shortcuts, no special treatment.
As he waited, he lightened the moment with humor.
“You Kibuli people are also trespassing on our lunch?” he joked, drawing laughter from those within earshot.
He spoke easily with officers around him, without the weight of rank. For a moment, hierarchy seemed suspended. It was just a group of colleagues waiting for a meal.
“I want to taste how good the food is,” he said as we edged closer to the serving point.
When his turn came, he picked his food carefully—modestly, even—carrying a light plate as he moved away.
In my 12 years covering crime and policing, I had never seen anything quite like it.
I had met AIGP Magambo once before, in a formal setting, discussing communication strategies for the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. Even then, there was a sense of humility. But what I witnessed that afternoon was something deeper—something unspoken, yet powerful.
It was not about the food. It was about presence, simplicity, and a quiet message: leadership does not always announce itself. Sometimes, it stands in line.
The writer is the Executive Editor, Kampala Gazette, and Head of Strategy, 3i Gazette Media and PR Agency Ltd.
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