Jinja hotel workers cited in theft of guests’ property

Police in Jinja have asked hotel guests to the eastern Ugandan city to be vigilant after the hospitality industry was allegedly rocked by a spate of thefts.
 
Kiira Region Police Spokesperson, James Mubi, has specifically blamed hotel guests who move with large sums of money without informing them to provide security.
 
“We have done our part and provided hotels with Counter Terrorism officers to provide security, and if those officers are not enough, we have beefed up with day and night patrols,” he said in an interview at the weekend.
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Mubi, however, urged some sections of the public to stop blaming them for the alleged failure by some hotels to screen the staff they hire, saying they have made some arrests which have netted some hotel workers.
 
“Can you imagine that some of the people we arrested for these criminalities are hotel workers and are currently remanded to Kirinya Prisons? Therefore, we want hotel owners to screen their staff,” said Mubi.
 
Mubi’s comments come after hotels in Jinja City were brought under public scrutiny by social media reports suggesting that they were no longer safe to stay in after some guests reportedly lost property.
 
On April 2, a lady identified as Patience Asaba Katushabe wrote: “Unfortunately, while staying at a hotel in Jinja on May 31, I experienced a theft; my laptop, phones, watches and clothes were all stolen.”
 
“Additionally, our partner from South Africa, who brought in an outdoor screening gear for our Matatu Film Stage Jinja Edition was also robbed of all his belongings and screening equipment.”
 
According to Katushabe, she couldn’t be reached via phone or email for now following the robbery which she described as “a challenging time”. She, however, said they were staying positive and hopeful for better days ahead, before concluding that Jinja isn’t safe.
 
Music producer and film director, Vince Musisi, too, posted on social media, warning that if you don’t have personal security, stay away from Jinja City, claiming he was robbed, while some other clients were robbed at Nile Village.
 
Nile Village proprietor, Harry Kasigwa, however, dismissed the allegations as “not true”. “That is not true,” he said in a brief telephone interview on Sunday, adding that he personally hasn’t seen such social media reports.
 
But former Lands Minister and proprietor of Source of the Nile Hotel in Jinja City, Daudi Migereko, said he had seen the social media posts, which he said “were causing them problems”.
 
“I saw social media reports of a robbery at one of the hotels in Jinja City, where filming equipment was stolen and I think the team was robbed.
 
“It is the one (post) causing us problems. But these robberies happened in March and April, and when information reached security, some arrests were made,” he said.
 
He added that shortly after, Police convened a meeting with hotel managers and owners, at which they were notified of the issues which happened and advised to install security cameras in hotels.
 
Ms Angela Namukose* (not real names), a waitress at one of the hotels in Jinja, said their meagre pay is pushing some of them into “temptation”.
 
“I earn a monthly salary of Shs150,000, yet I have to commute from Mbiko daily, spending Shs4,000 on transport, that means Shs120,000 is spent on transport alone, leaving me with a balance of Shs30,000; so, what do you expect?” she asked.
 
Fred Mugisha, a Kampala-based businessman, said something needs to be done because people have invested heavily in the hotel sector.
 
“I supply some factories in Jinja City and because we finish offloading late in the night, sometimes I sleep in a hotel,” he said, adding that no outsider can steal from hotel guests, and pointed the finger at the (hotel) staff.