Police unveil new plan to combat gangs after Museveni directive

Police, the leading agency in fighting crime in the country has unveiled a new plan that will help them fight criminal gangs that are terrorising mostly Kampala Metropolitan Areas following Museveni’s directive.

President Museveni early this week directed the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Maj.Gen.Muzeeyi Sabiiti, on behalf of the IGP, Okoth Ochola to lay down a strategic plan that would help deal with the rampant criminal gangs.

Addressing journalists on Friday, Sabiiti said the new plan will have a registration and marking of residences and streets in a bid to enhance quick response from security in case of any attack.

“There will be a quick and effective response and in this regard, the Kampala Metropolitan area will  be divided into policing zones or security constituencies  for each police station and post with attendant published call lines, reaction forces and linkage to all stations and posts as well as cameras where there is a distress call,”Maj.Gen.Muzeeyi Sabiiti said.

“Registration and marking of streets and residences will help enhance quick response but also lighting of streets, residences and other premises where affordable will greatly help security.”

According to the new plan, security will continue profiling hardcore criminals and these would be watched to ensure they don’t commit any more crimes.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police, however, noted that they would ensure effective investigation and prosecution of criminals so that they are not freed in courts of law.

“To this, we will require a more robust and dedicated prosecution and judicial set up to handle the violent variant crimes. Government will discuss the modalities with the judiciary and the office of the DPP,” the deputy Inspector General of Police said.

He, however, urged the public to make use of the numbers of the police posts and stations provided so as to relay information about criminals to security officers for quick response.

“We shall ensure the new measures work but those officers who fail to act on the new measures will have action taken against them,” he warned.

In his directive early this week, Museveni said the gangs are not so sophisticated and that they can easily be wiped out.

“These are gangs we shall easily defeat. That is what we did with the Kiddawalime gang in Masaka, the gang of Bukomero, the gang of Entebbe etc. It is easy to defeat these gangs. Their crimes will only add to the credit of the NRM because we are going to defeat them. Yet, the People have already seen the bankruptcy and the criminality of these groups and those who back them,” he said.

Past incidents

In the past few weeks, residents in the greater Kampala Metropolitan area have suffered at the hands of criminal gangs operating using guns, pangas and iron bars.

On October 10, a group of six men armed with machetes and iron bars attacked the home of Allan Mwesigwa,a banker  in Kajjansi Town Council before taking off with mobile phones, television sets and other home appliances.

On September 26, thugs beat up security guards at the premises of Doing Good, an NGO in Bulange, Lubaga division before breaking into the premises where foreign nationals mostly women were living.

They were stabbed and valuable items including phones and laptops plus cash worth shs26 million taken.

Later, when police intervened, two guns including an SAR and a AK47 rifle were recovered following a raid on a hideout where the thugs used to stay.

On October 9, a group of six assailants including a woman attacked a maize processing factory in Buloba, Wakiso district and disarmed a security guard, before taking off with cash and property.