By Cosmas Ssegirinnya
KAMPALA – Motorists in Kampala are increasingly getting worried every day that goes by as thugs have made it a profitable business to pluck off vehicle parts which they sell off to earn a living.
PML Daily has learnt that these thugs target vehicles that are stuck in traffic jam from which they pluck off parts like side mirrors, registration number plates, wheel caps and then flee through the muddle of traffic.
Tonny Kisembo, an owner of a Toyota Vitz narrates how he lost his side mirror at the clock tower during an intense traffic jam.
“I saw two young men coming near my vehicle and I thought they were beggars but I was shocked when they broke my side mirror and quickly disappeared,” he said.
This site has also learnt that these thugs move in teams of about three to four for purposes of self-defence.
The vice is rapidly growing and stretching to the outskirts of the capital city Kampala.
The problem is very rampant along busy roads like Entebbe road, Gayaza road, Jinja road, Hoima and Namirembe roads and all areas with high rates of traffic.
Meanwhile, the Police is already on alert and security has been revised and scrutinized on roads where the traffic jam is always heavy.
Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango says that they are aware and ready to take the necessary steps to protect motorists.
“We got that information about three weeks ago and quickly deployed our officers especially at Jinja Road traffic lights. We are also being helped by LDUs on other busy city roads to contain the vice and our deployment has really had a positive impact. “Onyango said.
The clock tower, Northern bypass roundabout connecting Bwaise to Kalerwe, Sir Apollo Kagwa road are other notorious spots highlighted by the police.
Road theft is not a newly born vice in Uganda, especially in the traffic jam. Many people have lost their phones, laptops and documents to thugs who snatch them through car windows.
