Security confiscates drone in Nakasongola

Frederick Kiwanuka                

Security personnel in Nakasongola District are baffled over an eyebrow-raising incident in which three men were arrested operating a drone in Nakitoma sub-county in Budyebo County.

The personnel who acted on a tip off from villagers also confiscated the privately owned white aircraft which the suspects were found operating from Nakitoma town.

It was by Wednesday being kept at Nakasongola police station as police, DISO and UPDF personnel held marathon joint meetings over the bizarre incident.

A drone, in form of a tinny aircraft, is an unmanned aerial vehicle which is remotely operated through software controlled flight mechanisms embedded it its system working in conjunction with GPS.

Drones are most often associated with the military, but they are also used for search and rescue, surveillance, traffic monitoring, weather monitoring and firefighting, among other things.

More recently, the unmanned air crafts have come into consideration for a number of commercial applications like taking photographs or capturing videos which are impossible for human photographers.   

Those arrested include: Daniel Wasake, David Odeke, and Mutenyo Chris. All were from Kampala.

The three suspects, who were interrogated at Nakasongola police by Wednesday, claim they had been deployed to photograph the area by a private developer who is planning to plant pine trees in the area.

But, Nakasongola District police Commander, Charles Nsaba said the police arrested them because they were operating a device which creates suspicion in the community without having informed the police

"We are still carrying out investigations to establish whether it is a security threat .If we find out that it is a security threat, the law will take its course," Nsaba told this reporter without allowing him to take photos of the white space device which was being kept in the District CID officer's office.

Nsaba said it was still too early for him to divulge further details to the press because the security personnel were not yet to establish the ownership of the drone, nor the motive for which it was being operated at a place adjacent to the Nakasongola based UPDF airbase.

"For the time being you can write that the suspects were arrested and the drone is here with us," Nsaba said.

Policemen at Nakasongola police station confessed that it was their first time to see a drone. ENDS