Police starts arresting riders, drivers  with hooded outfit

Police officers all over the country have been ordered to arrest and detain any persons putting on anything that can conceal facial disposition, in other words hooded outfit.

The order was carried in a message dated 20th July by Police Director of operations Asuman Mugyenyi to all Regional Police Commanders, Divisional Police Commanders, commander Kampala Metropolitan Police and all police units.

"H.E the President of the Republic of Uganda while addressing Parliament of Uganda on state of Security in the Country on 20th June 2018, directed that Inter-alia persons riding motorcycles/bicycles and driving motor vehicles should henceforth not wear hood. This also extends to driving/riding while putting on anything that can conceal/obscure facial disposition," reads the message in part.

"You are therefore directed to enforce H.E directive by arresting/apprehending defaulters thereof,” the message continues.

The order is an enforcement of a directive by President Yoweri Museveni who banned the hoods claiming they were being used by assailants.

Museveni statements came in the wake of the horrific murder of Arua Municipality Member of Parliament, Ibrahim Abiriga.

“The people who killed [Arua Municipality MP Ibrahim] Abiriga were using a simple technique of putting on a jacket with a hood. The other day, we were having a security committee meeting. Why do you allow these people with hoods to move around? We are going to ban the covering of your head when you’re driving or riding on a bike,” he said.

"All of them (cyclists) will be required to get new helmets with numbers on the back and the numbers must be seen even at night. No more hoods...Other methods will be said. All this is to discover the needle (criminal elements) in the haystack because we are trying to look for an assassin in three million people in Kampala here,” he added.