Prime
Rise in crime worries Ugandans
Machete-welding thugs caught on CCTV camera at a residential premises in Nasana Municipality, Wakiso District recently. FILE PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- About Shs100 billion is spent on Operation Shujaa in DRC annually.
- The President ordered for the deployment of Local Defence Unit personnel in the districts of Kamwenge, Bundibugyo and Kasese to protect the residents and businesses
- Police ICT commanders say the CCTV cameras have been affected by dust and bad weather, hence affecting picture quality.
When President Museveni delivered his State of Nation address last year, terror threats by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels and violent crime, especially in the urban areas, and cattle rustling in the Karamoja Sub-region were big talking points.
The President said deployment of soldiers in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo under the operation codenamed ‘Operation Shujaa’ would break the back of armed groups that use that area as a springboard for their operations.
About Shs100 billion is spent on Operation Shujaa in DRC annually.
Hardly a fortnight after the State of Nation address, the ADF rebels attacked Lhubiriha Secondary School in Mpondwe, Kasese District, killing 38 students, a guard and four residents on June 16, 2023. Since the attack, more than 70 people, including foreign tourists, have been killed by the ADF rebels in different parts of Uganda alone.
Many towns and tourist attraction centres in the western region have since been on heightened security alert.
The President ordered for the deployment of Local Defence Unit personnel in the districts of Kamwenge, Bundibugyo and Kasese to protect the residents and businesses.
Tensions have continued with the latest terror alert issued by the UPDF on March 18, 2024.
While issuing a terror alert, the Deputy Director of Defence Public Information, Col Deo Akiiki, said suspected ADF commanders had entered the country to lead attacks inside Uganda. The security agencies have not arrested or killed the said leaders or indicated whether they have returned to the DRC.
Security agencies are also battling violent criminals that are on the increase in urban areas where criminals attack their victims on the way or at their residences.
Young men are often captured by CCTV footage killing or stoning their unsuspecting victims along the way.
While pitching for the investment in the multi-billion CCTV camera project in 2017, Mr Museveni said it would enable security personnel to see crimes being committed in real-time so that they can react as fast as possible. However, many incidents have shown that even with CCTV cameras all over, sometimes the officers in the control rooms don’t see them or when they see them, the response team often arrives late at the scene when the suspects have fled. Many of the suspects seen on the cameras disappear without a trace.
Police ICT commanders say the CCTV cameras have been affected by dust and bad weather, hence affecting picture quality.
The police crime report of 2023 and partial crime statistics released so far this year show that aggravated robbery cases are on the rise. Last year, they rose by 18.4 percent compared to the 2,500 incidents registered in 2022.
On June 7, 2023, Mr Museveni said gun-related crimes were isolated and would be stopped immediately.
However, police statistics show that gun-related crimes have continued to rise. Last year alone, 266 people were killed by shooting, which was a 15 percent rise compared to the previous year.
Districts in Karamoja still top among the most contributors of murder by shooting in the country. The President promised to enhance troop deployment levels in Karamoja to fight cattle rustling.
He promised to invest in digital number plates to track down criminals using vehicles. The implementation of the digital number plates has been slow in what government attributes to sanctions on Russia.
