Police want LCs' power to issue travel permits revoked amidst accusations of extortion

The police have accused some local council leaders of issuing travel permits after extorting money from people, something they say will complicate the implementation of the Covid-19 directives issued by the president.

Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson said they want this power to be revoked if the country is to contain the  the spread of the Coronavirus.

"We want to seriously warn LC1 chairpersons for abusing their power through the issuance of local clearance letters to non-essential movements and or emergencies," Enanga told the media.

Enanga noted that they are informed that most of these people have been parting with some money to get these permits which amounts to extortion.

"We have gathered all these confiscated letters and we are going to forward them to the Inter Agency Task Force so that these powers, if deemed unfit, are either withdrawn or action taken against the LCs who are the culprits," he said.

During the course of last week, Enanga said a total of 1445 people were arrested for flouting the lockdown and curfew provisions and out of these 766 offenders were cautioned, 490 released on police bond while others were charged in court.

"In addition, a total of 633 motor vehicles were impounded, out of which 283 were issued with EPS tickets, 306 were cautioned, 38 pending, the unclaimed are four. Also impounded were 3884 motorcycles, out of which 2706 were issued with EPS tickets, 398 are still pending, while 48 are still unclaimed," he said.

Enanga said that they will continue to make adjustments in their enforcement measures, with the use of snap and impromptu checkpoints targeting motorists, working closely with Kampala Capital City authority (KCCA).

"The public should know that the strict lockdown measures, like in many other countries, are aimed at tackling the spread of Covid-19. We urge them to remain extra vigilant and avoid events that are super spreaders," he said.