Our streets are riddled with thugs
Feb 25, 2003
Your Platform:<br>Dear Kampalan, our city is in the grip of crime again. Spending a day on the Streets is enough to prove it.
Your Platform:
Dear Kampalan, our city is in the grip of crime again. Spending a day on the Streets is enough to prove it. The most disturbing fact is that local and central authorities know all about its rise and escalation.
The Crime ring consists of three groups: There are those who grab cell-phones, necklaces and bags. The second group comes very early in the morning and targets weak and unsuspecting people, especially from upcountry, while the third group, the smartest of the lot, targets rich characters –– the so called ‘my cars.’
“These are the groups that constitute what they call bayaye,†says a businessman on Nakivubo Road.
They are neither ordinary nor weak men. They are kanyamas (muscular). During the day some go for karate and taekwondo training in Nakivubo and Kisenyi, while others work.
At Shauli yako market, these thugs’ hideout –– the culverts –– has been tempered with by the construction of Nakivubo Channel. This had temporarily hindered their activities. “But yesterday we saw three lumpens resting in there, when people scorned them, they fled,†boda boda cyclists at Sauli yako told me.
The first group which grabs items sometimes uses small street boys to spy and plot for them. They roam Nakivubo Road, Luwum Street, Ben Kiwanuka Street, Channel Street, Blue Room on Namirembe Road and Baganda Bus Park.
Beware, next time you hear some people behind you speaking a language you know, but do not understand! Kampala’s petty thieves speak a coined lingua for their survival. They say, “emiwunyo twewogore,†to mean there’s the enemy, let’s quit!
When one of them runs out of luck and is arrested, he will tell his colleagues who are walking along side, “mwana waffe jiwunye,†to mean : “Man, I’ve been netted, do the needful.†But if they say: “Misoni nfuu, dilu esaze,†it means their mission has failed and the deal has gone sour.
If you look like someone from upcountry, they will refer to you as “omulimi, or fala.†And, if you hear that, please take to your heels because you are most likely a target, since they believe you do not know your way around.
Trouble comes when one of them fears to hit a target. You will hear voices from different directions: “mwana waffe tobabaikira mu akisoni,†meaning “come on man, don’t falter when you are in action.â€
To them money is either jani, kunje or obumma. Be careful when you find people saying, “ntemerayo kyontemera, Mwana ndi kunjala!â€
Queensway, Luwum street-traffic lights a.k.a Miniprice, Blue Room, Kafumbe Mukasa Road, Nakivubo Mews or Channel Street, Bat valley and the Railway Yard, are the spots patronised by these petty thieves especially early in the mornings and late in the evenings.
I overheard one of them saying: “I would rather sleep in a cell than sleep hungry.â€
These crooks take simple lessons of psychology during their free time. Make shift video halls a.k.a bibanda which are located especially in suburban slums where rent is low, are their classrooms.
People who understand them advise that when one attacks you and takes your money, create hell for him. This is because usually, the people who come to your rescue as sympathisers are actually party to the theft. so, tell the ‘sympathisers’ that the money snatched from you was more than what they thought.
“If it was sh20,000, claim you lost sh200,000 instead. They will go and squeeze the goon until he breathes his last,†says a businesswoman on Luwum Street.
Those who operate during the day sleep at night, but those who train during the day and work at night hardly sleep. They crew too much drugs, which keep them active during the night.
They use small boys whom the mobs sometimes sympathise with after they catch them stealing. These normally go for car lights, mobile phones and necklaces.
Recently, Kiwanuka and Kobe, two small boys were caught stealing car lights at Makerere University. Unfortunately, Kiwanuka escaped, but Kobe was arrested.
Kiwanuka is 12 years-old and Kobe is 11, according to the LC1 Chairman Makerere Kivulu, where Kobe resides.
The boy told security officials that there is a Hajji in Kiseka market, who sends them to steal car spare parts. He trains them on how to remove spare parts and how to dodge the car owners. He gives them sh1,000 for every item they bring.
The boy confessed that he had done it for about two years. He said it was his colleague, Kiwanuka who enticed him.
It is true that Operation Wembley wiped out the big timers and did a lot to deter these petty thugs. But their success with the latter was a short-lived one. Today, a walk on the streets of Kampala proves that these petty thugs are thriving unabated.
Pidson Kareire,
Kampala
Dear Kampalan, our city is in the grip of crime again. Spending a day on the Streets is enough to prove it. The most disturbing fact is that local and central authorities know all about its rise and escalation.
The Crime ring consists of three groups: There are those who grab cell-phones, necklaces and bags. The second group comes very early in the morning and targets weak and unsuspecting people, especially from upcountry, while the third group, the smartest of the lot, targets rich characters –– the so called ‘my cars.’
“These are the groups that constitute what they call bayaye,†says a businessman on Nakivubo Road.
They are neither ordinary nor weak men. They are kanyamas (muscular). During the day some go for karate and taekwondo training in Nakivubo and Kisenyi, while others work.
At Shauli yako market, these thugs’ hideout –– the culverts –– has been tempered with by the construction of Nakivubo Channel. This had temporarily hindered their activities. “But yesterday we saw three lumpens resting in there, when people scorned them, they fled,†boda boda cyclists at Sauli yako told me.
The first group which grabs items sometimes uses small street boys to spy and plot for them. They roam Nakivubo Road, Luwum Street, Ben Kiwanuka Street, Channel Street, Blue Room on Namirembe Road and Baganda Bus Park.
Beware, next time you hear some people behind you speaking a language you know, but do not understand! Kampala’s petty thieves speak a coined lingua for their survival. They say, “emiwunyo twewogore,†to mean there’s the enemy, let’s quit!
When one of them runs out of luck and is arrested, he will tell his colleagues who are walking along side, “mwana waffe jiwunye,†to mean : “Man, I’ve been netted, do the needful.†But if they say: “Misoni nfuu, dilu esaze,†it means their mission has failed and the deal has gone sour.
If you look like someone from upcountry, they will refer to you as “omulimi, or fala.†And, if you hear that, please take to your heels because you are most likely a target, since they believe you do not know your way around.
Trouble comes when one of them fears to hit a target. You will hear voices from different directions: “mwana waffe tobabaikira mu akisoni,†meaning “come on man, don’t falter when you are in action.â€
To them money is either jani, kunje or obumma. Be careful when you find people saying, “ntemerayo kyontemera, Mwana ndi kunjala!â€
Queensway, Luwum street-traffic lights a.k.a Miniprice, Blue Room, Kafumbe Mukasa Road, Nakivubo Mews or Channel Street, Bat valley and the Railway Yard, are the spots patronised by these petty thieves especially early in the mornings and late in the evenings.
I overheard one of them saying: “I would rather sleep in a cell than sleep hungry.â€
These crooks take simple lessons of psychology during their free time. Make shift video halls a.k.a bibanda which are located especially in suburban slums where rent is low, are their classrooms.
People who understand them advise that when one attacks you and takes your money, create hell for him. This is because usually, the people who come to your rescue as sympathisers are actually party to the theft. so, tell the ‘sympathisers’ that the money snatched from you was more than what they thought.
“If it was sh20,000, claim you lost sh200,000 instead. They will go and squeeze the goon until he breathes his last,†says a businesswoman on Luwum Street.
Those who operate during the day sleep at night, but those who train during the day and work at night hardly sleep. They crew too much drugs, which keep them active during the night.
They use small boys whom the mobs sometimes sympathise with after they catch them stealing. These normally go for car lights, mobile phones and necklaces.
Recently, Kiwanuka and Kobe, two small boys were caught stealing car lights at Makerere University. Unfortunately, Kiwanuka escaped, but Kobe was arrested.
Kiwanuka is 12 years-old and Kobe is 11, according to the LC1 Chairman Makerere Kivulu, where Kobe resides.
The boy told security officials that there is a Hajji in Kiseka market, who sends them to steal car spare parts. He trains them on how to remove spare parts and how to dodge the car owners. He gives them sh1,000 for every item they bring.
The boy confessed that he had done it for about two years. He said it was his colleague, Kiwanuka who enticed him.
It is true that Operation Wembley wiped out the big timers and did a lot to deter these petty thugs. But their success with the latter was a short-lived one. Today, a walk on the streets of Kampala proves that these petty thugs are thriving unabated.
Pidson Kareire,
Kampala