Residents in Jinja, have accused police authorities of
laxity in containing machete-wielding men who terrorize villages in the city
and surrounding areas.
The residents narrated to URN on Thursday how police authorities are "fond" of arresting several youths from the areas of Bugembe, Mafubira
and Walukuba, with hopes of creating security sanity, yet insecurity just continues to thrive.
The continued insecurity has since bred fertile ground for
the thriving of mob justice incidents, as disgruntled residents opt to lynch suspects, instead of reporting to police.
Three suspected machete wielding men have been
lynched in the wards of Bugembe and Mafubira, in Northern division, in the past
four days and their unclaimed bodies are still lying at the Jinja regional
referral hospital mortuary, awaiting.
Leonard Kakungulu, a resident of Wanyange cell, in Jinja's Northern
division says that machete wielding men attacked him on his way
from work during the evening of 01st, July, 2023 and cut his shoulder before fleeing with a smart phone and 200,000 Shillings.
Kakungulu, a chapatti
maker, now lies at Bugembe health center IV for treatment and his family’s general
wellbeing is now in the hands of his friends.
Tom Kalumula, another resident from Nakanyonyi cell, says
that six men armed with both guns and machetes, broke into his house during the early hours of 06th July, 2023, grabbed and unspecified sum of money before
fleeing.
“They broke into my house after breaking the burglar proofs in
the windows area, collected an unspecified sum of money from the different points
in the house, before fleeing off, “ Kalumba says.
Elijah Musubi, another resident, says that,= their area is
home to some of the most powerful individuals in Jinja, whose homes are
largely targeted by the suspected thieves.
Musubi adds that, the suspects carry guns, while
attacking residents and it is prudent for police to intensify their hunt for
the suspects or risk losing some lives of the citizens in the area.
//cue in: “twe’nze batuyambeku…//
Cue out…kumpi, kuliya.”//
Bakali Isabirye, the youth council secretary in Northern
division, says that the Kiira regional police command authorities should invest more in
conducting intelligence led operations, which can culminate into evidence based
arrests, rather than opting for collective detentions, where suspects are
arrested without prosecutable leads and they return to conduct revenge attacks
in communities after release.
Isabirye adds that, most suspected criminals reside in
distant areas from where they emerge and retreat to, which enables them to execute
their attacks undetected, but he wants police to coordinate with territorial commanders
in neighboring areas, as a means of fighting criminality.
//cue in: “tibavubuka bo’nka… //
Cue out…omulabe walala.”//
Joel Ntuyo, the L.C.1 chairperson of Nakanyonyi-Bukwale cell, says that police should generate practical solutions aimed at fostering security and sanity in the black spot areas, rather than holding endless, fruitless community
policing engagements.
Ntuyo further says that they have since setup local village
security teams, mandated with providing police with intelligence information
concerning criminals in the area and he challenged police authorities to ensure
timely response in case of related alerts, as a means of easing arrest of
suspected criminals.
//cue in: “ebijambiya biswise wano…//
Cue out…nebintu bya’ ibwe.”//
On his part, the Kiira regional police spokesperson, James
Mubi says that the situation is under control and security personnel have been
dispatched to conduct mobile patrols, as a means of smoking out criminals.
Mubi however, stresses the challenge of parents fond of
concealing their children’s crimes, arguing that such cover-up tendencies are
the missing link towards attaining the complete security sanity in the Kiira
region territorial policing area.
