Bugembe residents want daily police patrols

Aug 22, 2016

“Most of the police officers come to make patrols when drunk and can’t even chase the criminals."

JINJA - Residents of Bugembe town council have asked police to start carrying out day and night patrols to ensure safety of people and their property.

During a security meeting on Sunday that was presided over by the deputy resident district commissioner Erick Saakwa and Tyson Rutambika, the acting district police commander, they stressed that a group identified as ‘team no sleep'  had turned to stabbing them with sharp knives and also stealing their property.

During the meeting, councilor Ayabu Khan from Budhumbali East explained that instead of coming to their rescue, police shun duty and make patrols when drunk.

"Most of the police officers come to make patrols when drunk and can't even chase the criminals. We need police to style up and do morning and night operations to get rid of the criminals," he said.

However during the meeting they also accused the police of aiding crime promoters by providing information about their operations. They added that this was through crime preventers who where recruited in the police force during elections but now lack jobs.

Locals complained about lack of enough enforcement, saying the fast-developing Bugembe town council with 15 villages has only six police officers. They noted that at the current rate of development, they need atleast each village to have a police post for security.

This was after the councilor was pointed at by security operatives for promoting and aiding the so-called 'team no sleep' to cause insecurity in the area.

According to Rutambika, the group is mainly made up of youths between the age of 12 and 17. He said once they are arrested, parents use politicians to bail out their children yet they are supposed to be punished in juvenile homes.

He warned parents to keenly watch their children, saying that once arrested they will be taken for rehabilitation because ANPPCAN, an NGO dealing in children affairs, is working with police to cater for their feeding and transport to the existing remand homes.

Rutambika assured the residents of daily patrols and warned that in case a youth is arrested, the parents and politicians involved in bailing out the criminals will also be arrested.

The RDC said some places are impassable by 9:00 pm and said the blacklisted places are Maternity, Katende road, Wanyama road and along the railway line where a woman and child where stabbed to death by allged 'team no sleep' members.

"As security we work using intelligence and if any political leader thinks in a different direction he or she is misled."

With help from the UPDF, area police are going to carry out daily operations to clear the town of criminals.

 

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