Prime
Kampala relaxed amid UN, America terror warnings
A member of the police bomb disposal experts prepares to detonate an explosive that targeted believers at Miracle Center Cathedral in Kampala on September 3, 2023. PHOTO/ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Uganda has suffered a wave of attacks, including from the Allied De-fence Forces, a terrorist group operating from eastern DR Congo.
Businesses in Kampala City are going on normally despite the United States Embassy terror alert issued at the weekend.
In the alert, the embassy said they have unconfirmed reports of an increased risk of terror attacks in Kampala and urged its citizens living in Uganda to exercise increased caution in public places.
Even though the police spokesperson, Mr Rusoke Kituuma, yesterday revealed that they had come up with measures to increase vigilance among city dwellers, our visit to the city centre revealed that there was no vigilance being observed.
In the taxi and bus parks, passengers were seen freely boarding to their destinations without any security checks. In some shopping malls, persons were not checked as they moved in and out of buildings.
Some of the city dwellers we interacted with said they were not aware of the terror alert.
"I didn't know about this alert, but since you have told me, let me tell my people to start taking caution,’’ Mr Isaac Mabirizi, a taxi operator, said.
Mr Solomon Nsimiire, the chairperson of Uganda Bus Owners As-sociation, said their members have been instructed to check passengers following the terror alert.
"It looks like our people are not just enforcing the guidelines, but we already told them that there is a terror alert and security measures such as checking passengers and their luggage need to be enforced,’’ Mr Nsimiire said.
Addressing journalists yesterday in Kampala, Mr Rusoke called upon Ugandans and business owners not to relax any security measures put in "There is a terror threat but there have always been threats. The fact that Uganda is an active participant and it is on the front line of the fight against terrorism, we certainly are targets of terror threats, so there are also countermeasures, we are not covering ourselves with blankets, but we are taking the threat very seriously,’’ Mr Rusoke said
He added: "We appeal to the public not to relax because when you do, you will be hit. Malls should heighten and also maintain the measures that are supposed to be in place. People should be checked in public transport areas like taxi and bus parks."
Mr Rusoke also asked people to report any suspicious items dropped in public places.
"Organisers of festivals should take security as an important thing, make sure police participate in the protection of people at these festivals,’’ Mr Rusoke said.
Uganda has suffered a wave of attacks, including from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a terrorist group operating from eastern DR Congo.
have been targeting soft spots such as bars, trucks, schools and roadside markets since 2014. The rebel group is also accused of killing more than 200 people in 30 terror attacks between July 2001 and now in Uganda.
