KAMPALA–As the country prepares to celebrate Christmas and New Year festivals, the Police have urged the public to be cautious of criminals who use commuter taxis to rob unsuspecting passengers.
Police say such criminals target passengers with laptops, mobile phones and women’s handbags. To counter the criminal acts, Emilian Kayima, the Police spokesperson, advised the public to register the number plates of the commuter taxis before boarding them.
“Before boarding, write down the number plate. In case you are robbed, it will be very easy for us to make a follow up and investigate the case,” Kayima explained.
He said criminals also target users of public transport along Entebbe Road who at times prefer to board private cars.
“Some women have been raped in these private cars. We caution the public to stop using them,” Kayiima added.
For decades, hand pickers had been grabbing bags, phones and wallets within the city centre.
But recently, the criminals moved to city suburbs, targeting motorists in the traffic jam during the evening hours.
Such cases have been reported along Jinja Road, Ntinda, Kiwatuule areas and Rubaga Road.
Robbing cars
The Police are also cautioning car owners to be careful during the Christmas festival to be careful where they park their vehicles in the evening.
Figures from Police show that there has been rampant increase in car thefts in Kampala city, between August and November, this year. Over 300 cars, Kayima said and motorcycles were stolen with in that period.
The police have however been able to recover 36% of the stolen cars.
Some of the recovered vehicles have been kept at CPS, Kayima explained that the owners have not yet been identified.
The stolen cars, the Police used are sneaked out of the country through Busia border, which is currently has become a transit point for stolen cars.