President Museveni has given the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Maj.Gen. Muzeeyi Sabiiti two days to deal with the rampant criminal gangs terrorizing residents in various parts of the greater Kampala Metropolitan area.
In a statement about the current security situation in the country, Museveni said he had been made aware of gangs attacking homes in the city using machetes and iron bars, noting that these should not worry the public.
“For today, I will only comment on the pigs that are attacking people with pangas and mitayimbwa (steel- bars) and robbing them. I have given two days to the commander Sabiiti of the police to come out with a plan to combat these gangs,”Museveni said in the statement.
The Inspector-General of Police who is in Peru for a meeting delegated his duties to his deputy Muzeeyi Sabiiti.
Museveni said these gangs are not so sophisticated adding 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.”
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.
