Kayihura arrests six policemen
THE Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, on Saturday ordered the arrest of six Police constables and a Umeme engineer over breaking into houses of illegal power consumers.
By Daniel Edyegu
THE Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, on Saturday ordered the arrest of six Police constables and a Umeme engineer over breaking into houses of illegal power consumers.
The Police, led by Eng. Fred Lubega, reportedly entered people’s houses in Bunghoko-Mutoto sub-county, Mbale district, and confiscated property from suspected power thieves.
Lubega, together with the policemen, were apprehended during a meeting at Bunampongo in Bumageni parish.
The Police constables were Martin Opendi, Amron Namugong, Muhamed Kayiira Zubair Isizungu, Latif Richard and Allan Wamuguwa, attached to the highway patrol unit in Mbale.
The residents told Kayihura that on March 10, Lubega, accompanied by the policemen and men armed with axes and saws, ‘raided’ the village at about 10:30am.
They reported that the Police stood guard as the men broke padlocks of houses of suspected illegal power users before carrying away assorted electrical appliances.
“I was away from home when they broke into my house. They took two television sets and two radios, accusing me of using power illegally,†said 76-year-old John Wasike.
He said he acquired electricity in his house through the normal procedures. “I have all the documents and receipts of the Umeme power bills to that effect.â€
Ahamad Washaki, the Bungoko-Mutoto LC3 chairman, said over 30 households in Bunampongo, Makokha, Bukasonko, Bukulenga, Lwalera, Shinombe, Shiyatsa and Bumbe had been affected.
He said Umeme carried away five out of the six electricity transformers that were serving the villages.
Kayihura reprimanded the constables for the act and apologised to the local residents for the inconvenience caused. He promised to deal with the culprits in accordance with the law. Kayihura said the six Police constables acted without a directive from superior authorities.
“We are supposed to keep law and order. How do I lead a force of criminals? I am not going to rest until I see that all those who wrecked havoc in the villages face justice.â€
Lubega and the six constables were detained at Mbale Central Police Station. The regional Police commander, Joel Aguma, said they had opened a general file.
“We are still collecting complaints from the people. We shall analyse them and prefer appropriate charges against the suspects,†he noted.
Asked for a reaction, Umeme said it had no evidence that its engineer broke into houses. “On some of the transformers that were relocated from there, not one person was paying for electricity,†said Umeme boss Charles Chapman.
“We have to be fair to all customers. The reason why we are clamping down on power theft is to reduce the price of electricity.â€
He appealed for support from the Police and the local communities to fight power theft.
“Putting our engineers in jail is not the way to do it. If local communities don’t support and help our staff to stop power thieves, the price of electricity will remain high.â€
Electricity was connected to the sub-county in 2006. However, most residents had resorted to tapping electricity from the power lines using wires. They argue that electricity was a presidential reward to the area for overwhelmingly voting NRM in the 2001 and 2006 elections.
During his meeting with the residents last year, housing state minister Michael Werikhe condemned the widespread power theft in the area. He said people were frequently being electrocuted and then buried at night for fear of repercussions.
THE Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, on Saturday ordered the arrest of six Police constables and a Umeme engineer over breaking into houses of illegal power consumers.
The Police, led by Eng. Fred Lubega, reportedly entered people’s houses in Bunghoko-Mutoto sub-county, Mbale district, and confiscated property from suspected power thieves.
Lubega, together with the policemen, were apprehended during a meeting at Bunampongo in Bumageni parish.
The Police constables were Martin Opendi, Amron Namugong, Muhamed Kayiira Zubair Isizungu, Latif Richard and Allan Wamuguwa, attached to the highway patrol unit in Mbale.
The residents told Kayihura that on March 10, Lubega, accompanied by the policemen and men armed with axes and saws, ‘raided’ the village at about 10:30am.
They reported that the Police stood guard as the men broke padlocks of houses of suspected illegal power users before carrying away assorted electrical appliances.
“I was away from home when they broke into my house. They took two television sets and two radios, accusing me of using power illegally,†said 76-year-old John Wasike.
He said he acquired electricity in his house through the normal procedures. “I have all the documents and receipts of the Umeme power bills to that effect.â€
Ahamad Washaki, the Bungoko-Mutoto LC3 chairman, said over 30 households in Bunampongo, Makokha, Bukasonko, Bukulenga, Lwalera, Shinombe, Shiyatsa and Bumbe had been affected.
He said Umeme carried away five out of the six electricity transformers that were serving the villages.
Kayihura reprimanded the constables for the act and apologised to the local residents for the inconvenience caused. He promised to deal with the culprits in accordance with the law. Kayihura said the six Police constables acted without a directive from superior authorities.
“We are supposed to keep law and order. How do I lead a force of criminals? I am not going to rest until I see that all those who wrecked havoc in the villages face justice.â€
Lubega and the six constables were detained at Mbale Central Police Station. The regional Police commander, Joel Aguma, said they had opened a general file.
“We are still collecting complaints from the people. We shall analyse them and prefer appropriate charges against the suspects,†he noted.
Asked for a reaction, Umeme said it had no evidence that its engineer broke into houses. “On some of the transformers that were relocated from there, not one person was paying for electricity,†said Umeme boss Charles Chapman.
“We have to be fair to all customers. The reason why we are clamping down on power theft is to reduce the price of electricity.â€
He appealed for support from the Police and the local communities to fight power theft.
“Putting our engineers in jail is not the way to do it. If local communities don’t support and help our staff to stop power thieves, the price of electricity will remain high.â€
Electricity was connected to the sub-county in 2006. However, most residents had resorted to tapping electricity from the power lines using wires. They argue that electricity was a presidential reward to the area for overwhelmingly voting NRM in the 2001 and 2006 elections.
During his meeting with the residents last year, housing state minister Michael Werikhe condemned the widespread power theft in the area. He said people were frequently being electrocuted and then buried at night for fear of repercussions.