65 Suspected Criminals Arrested in City Police Swoop

65 suspected criminals have been arrested in Namugongo. This follows complaints from residents about the high crime rate in the area. 

John Kiwanda, a resident of Kyaliwajjala said thugs have been waylaying them early in the morning or late in the evening and taking their belongings.

“In these areas, you wake early you find thugs in the corridors. You return home in the evening you find them near your house or in the corridors. We are worried and fear moving early in the morning or the evening,” Kiwanda said.

Another resident, Jennifer Namuwonge, who is a shop attendant along Kyaliwajjala –Kira road said thugs even enter the shops during daytime and steal items including cash. According to Namuwonge, there is a need for intensified security operations to deal with thugs that are making life hard for them.

“If you move outside your house for a few minutes and you forget to close the door, your items will be stolen. You walk out of your shop for a minute, you find some of the items missing. We need protection from these criminals,” Namuwonge said.

In response to these outcries, the Kira Road police division in collaboration with its counterparts in Kireka, Naalya and Bweyogerere has conducted operations which have led to the arrest of 65 suspected criminals.

Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, said operations in which the 65 suspects were arrested were carried out in areas of Kyaliwajjala A around Kyaliwajjala market, Bweyogerere, Kireka railways, Naalya and Kira Tax Park.

“This was a joint army and police operation carried out in areas of Kyaliwajjala B (Nabwojjo), Kyaliwajjala A (Kyaliwajjala market), Bweyogerere (Kasubi), Kireka railways, Naalya, and Kira Tax Park, led to the arrest of 65 suspects,” Onyango said.

Security said the operations aimed to crack down on suspected criminals involved in robberies, burglaries, and related cases. “These operations were targeting known hideouts and gathering places. Some suspects were found in possession of marijuana.”

Because of the many entertainment places in Kira Municipality, thugs have made it a routine to gather around such places to monitor who is moving in which direction on foot. Sometimes revellers are victimized a stone’s throw from places of entertainment while several have been attacked along the stretch from Naalya to Kyaliwajjala trading centre.