KAMPALA – At least 18 people have been arrested for smoking prohibited drugs such as shisha in public places in Kampala.
Deputy Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said the suspects were netted from bars in an operation conducted by Jinja Road police station and shall be charged in courts of law within the course of the week.
“These suspects were found smoking Shisha in bars in Bugolobi and they are now waiting to be arraigned in court. We urge people to always report people smoking in public places,” Mr Owoyesigyire said during a press conference at the police headquarters on Monday.
Police have also cautioned parents against letting children walk alone on roads since there could be criminals targeting them. Police spokesperson Fred Enanga urged parents to escort their children to school.
“This has been a long holiday and sometimes children come back when they have been abused. We ask teachers and nurses to share with us stories of children who may have been sexually abused or mistreated,” Mr Enanga said.
Mr Enanga also refuted stories of police tricycles being idle yet they were procured using billions of shillings. He said the 100 tricycles are being installed with sirens so that they can be help for traffic operations and rescue missions.
He also said two suspects have been arrested on suspicion of lynching Dickson Kivumbi Muweereza, a resident of Kitubulu in Katabi town council.
Muweereza was lynched last week on allegations of stealing a welding machine but neighbours told police that he was framed because he had constantly refused to sell his late father’s land.
The deceased was found at Kitubulu public beach washing clothes with his daughter by a group of men armed with sticks and metallic objects. He was dragged to a welding workshop where he had allegedly stolen a welding machine and beaten to death as his helpless daughter look on.
Mr Enanga said police used a video that was recorded by a concerned resident to track for the suspects. He said police was hunting for four more suspects captured in the video pelting stones at Muweereza as he laboured to explain his innocence.
“We applaud the person who recorded this video because it has helped us to identify two suspects and they are now in our custody. We are looking for more four suspects. We ask the public to always record such scenarios,” Mr Enanga said.
A day after Muweereza was lynched, concerned woman approached police with information claiming some people orchestrated his lynching because he was the only obstacle in several attempts to grab his later father’s land.
In a video that went viral, a man is seen hitting Muweereza several times with a heavy metal until he breathed his last. The video also shows a man trying to stop them from killing him but he was overpowered and resorted to making phone calls perhaps alerting police.
