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Nansana tops crime in city
Police seal off Cheap Hardware shop in Nansana Municipality, Wakiso District, after armed thugs robbed money and killed two workers in May last year. PHOTO BY JOSEPH KIGGUNDU
Police have declared Nansana Township, Wakiso District, the main base of criminals that are giving people in the Kampala metropolitan area sleepless nights.
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga said criminals that are terrorising many parts of Kampala have their bases in Nansana and efforts are underway to increase policing.
“Nansana has the highest criminal cases in Kampala Metropolitan policing area. Most of the car thieves and robbers are based in Nansana,” Mr Enanga said yesterday.
Nansana Municipality is the second urban area with the largest population after Kampala City, with a total of 370,000 people.
With its smaller geographical size, it has the population which is equal to that in districts of Bukomansimbi, Buliisa and Lyantonde.
Despite the huge population, the number of police officers in the area is still small. The entire Nansana Police Division has less than 150 police officers, a ratio of one officer per 2,000 people. The standard ratio is one officer per 500 people.
Mr Enanga said Nansana criminals have been travelling to Kira Municipality, which has become a dwelling for people that have attained middle income status and carry out robberies before returning to their base.
“In our operations against criminals, most tracks lead us to Nansana Municipality,” he said.
Over the weekend, police arrested seven suspected car robbers who specialise in stealing Toyota Premios and Harriers, dismantle and sell their spare parts. Mr Enanga said six of the suspects were from Nansana and they had robbed motor vehicles in Kira Municipality.
Two vehicles were recovered from the suspects.
Last month, police seized eight vehicles that had been involved in criminal cases in Kampala City and arrested 13 suspects. Majority of the suspects operated in Nansana Municipality.
Another police team that carried out an operation against gangs that target motorists and grab their mobile phones at road junctions in Kampala City found stolen items in shops or homes in Nansana.
Since 2017, police management has been battling violent crimes and criminal gangs in the municipality after a dozen incidents when women were raped before they were murdered.
In October last year, police put in place various measures at different police stations as part of the security plan to fight rising crime in the city and the country at large. They introduced desk phones at different stations and police posts for the public to call in case of an attack.
