Police dismantle seven Kampala gangs that fled to Bugiri, 12 arrested
Michael Kasadha, the Busoga East regional police spokesperson, said the latest operation was conducted on November 10, from 11:00am to 5:00pm, following intelligence reports and complaints from residents.
Michael Kasadha, the Busoga East regional police spokesperson, said the operation followed a series of incidents involving vandalism and theft of public infrastructure. (File photo)
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Police have arrested 12 suspects in an intelligence-led operation targeting criminal gangs that allegedly fled Kampala following security crackdowns, regrouped in Bugiri District and continued terrorising residents through theft, kidnapping and torture.
Preliminary police investigations indicate that some criminal groups, after being hunted in Kampala, relocate to upcountry districts they consider safe havens, where they rebuild their networks and continue engaging in criminal activities.
Bugiri is among the latest districts where police have moved against such groups, following complaints of widespread vandalism of public infrastructure, theft of electricity cables, water meters and lightning arresters, as well as attacks on residents.
Michael Kasadha, the Busoga East regional police spokesperson, said the latest operation was conducted on November 10, from 11:00am to 5:00pm, following intelligence reports and complaints from residents.
The gangs
The operation targeted six suspected criminal gangs operating in different parts of Bugiri, including Soweto gang in Kikabala, Kapyanga Sub- County; B13 gang in Busanzi Cell, Western Division; Obama Street gang at Bugiri Bus Park; 360 gang in Musongora Village; and Namakoko gang in Nankoma sub-county.
Security teams also raided three scrap metal stores whose owners are suspected of buying stolen government property.
Kasadha said the operation followed a series of incidents involving vandalism and theft of public infrastructure.
In October, he said police registered the vandalism and theft of more than 25 water meters and taps belonging to the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC).
In the same month, about 200 metres of aerial bundled conductor (ABC) electricity wires were vandalised in Namakoko Village, Nankoma Sub-County.
In November, lightning arresters were vandalised at Imuli Government Primary School and in homes within Musongora Village.
Criminals also cut and stole about five metres of copper cable running beneath a police closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera in Musongora.
The victim was subsequently rescued by police working with local leaders.
Juveniles expose gang networks
The November 10 operation followed the apprehension of three juveniles by local leaders in Musongora Village at about 11:00am as they allegedly cut copper cables using pliers.
The suspects were also accused of stealing money from a nearby restaurant and assaulting its owner.
Kasadha said interrogation of the juveniles led investigators to other suspected gang members and scrap dealers allegedly buying vandalised materials.
“The juveniles confessed that they and others still at large have been vandalising lightning arresters, water meters, taps and copper cables,” he said.
The suspects reportedly told investigators that they sold copper and aluminium to scrap dealers at about sh20,000 per kilogramme, using the proceeds to buy food, clothes and alcohol.
They also reportedly admitted extending their criminal activities to Bugobi in neighbouring Namutumba District and identified other alleged gang members and dealers, who bought the stolen materials.
Acting on the information, a joint security team comprising police, the Internal Security Organisation, Uganda People's Defence Forces personnel, and local council leaders conducted cordon-and-search operations in the targeted areas.
Twelve suspects, including adults and juveniles, were arrested.
The operation also led to the recovery of 30 original tricycle padlocks, vandalised NWSC taps, pipes and other components, damaged Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) electricity wires, marijuana, breaking implements and other suspected stolen property.
They also demolished the illegal "basement" structure allegedly used to confine and torture victims. However, the suspects had fled before the security team arrived.
At the Soweto gang hideout in Kikabala, police recovered marijuana and breaking implements.
Kasadha said investigations were continuing to establish the full network, with detectives pursuing suspects still at large, including alleged gang leaders and scrap dealers suspected of financing the vandalism by purchasing stolen public property. The arrested suspects are expected to face charges in court.
Gangs and unemployment
The Bugiri operation comes amid growing police concerns about the spread of criminal gangs, particularly among unemployed young people in urban settlements.
Police estimate that about 500,000 youths are affiliated with operational gangs across the country, with Kampala Metropolitan Area among the most affected.
Security officials have previously reported that some youths in gangs are allegedly paid between sh10,000 and sh20,000 a day by musicians and politicians to participate in violent activities, including disrupting events and providing protection for rival groups.
The challenge has increasingly drawn attention to the relationship between unemployment, poverty and crime, with security officials arguing that arrests alone cannot eliminate the conditions that make young people vulnerable to recruitment.
In December last year, President Yoweri Museveni injected sh1.2b into 12 ghetto savings and credit cooperative organisations (SACCOs) in Kampala Metropolitan Area, with each receiving sh100m.
Maj. Gen. Christopher Damulira, who is among the security personnel mobilising youth out of criminality, said the beneficiaries were drawn from 216 ghetto zones, whose wider population was estimated at about 120,000 youths.
The Ghetto Structure, established in March 2023, was intended to mobilise young people for peace, development and productive economic activities.
The intervention complements the Parish Development Model (PDM), a government programme designed to move households from subsistence production into the money economy through enterprise development and increased household incomes.
The Government has allocated sh2.4 trillion towards the PDM programme, which targets households across the country's 10,585 parishes.