Private security guards still targeted for their guns, says police

Police have said that private security guards who walk or are deployed alone at their duty stations are targets for criminals who kill them and take their guns.

Police has for the last nine months been warning proprietors of businesses, including petrol stations and supermarkets among others to avoid having one private security guard or else their businesses and the lives of the guards are vulnerable to criminals.

According to police spokesperson, Fred Enanga, the wave of attacks towards private security guards has continued.

“We are not happy with the continuous loss of guns and the people stealing them are members of dangerous criminal gangs that use the guns to terrorise Ugandans,”Enanga said.

He cited a Saturday incident in Kawempe where a private security guard at a wholesale shop was attacked at night by three armed criminals who shot Samuel Muhindo and robbed his gun.

Enanga explained that in the attack, nothing else was taken, a move he says was planned by the assailants to rob the gun by targeting the security guard.

The police spokesperson said in Bukedea, a petrol station was attacked by unknown assailants who robbed a gun from the security guard that they used to shot three people among them the manager who died.

“We are concerned by the robbery of these guns. Our intelligence organs are still trying to find out if the robberies of guns are carried out by a rebel or terrorist group because almost every week, we get a case of a robbed gun.”

Advice

Enanga said police will this week have another meeting with proprietors of private security companies to discuss the matter that he said is alarming.

“We ask private security companies to avoid lone deployments. If the company is not giving you enough money for a pair of guards, don’t sacrifice your men by deploying lone guards. There should be tactical deployment of the guards”

“The proprietors of petrol stations or supermarkets should also know that deployment of guards alone is not enough. Don’t rely on the security guard alone. Once he is shot at or conspires with thugs, your petrol station or supermarket will be at the mercy of thugs.”

Enanga however noted that  police has continued to recover guns, mentioning an SMG rifle with 20 rounds of ammunition recovered in Mbarara where it had been abandoned by a UPDF private who earlier this month disappeared from Ruhengyere barracks in Kiruhura district as well as another gun recovered in Jinja.

He says security will continue with operations to recover guns in illegal hands.