Energy installations put on high security alert

The Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, has named energy installations as high-security risk infrastructure in the country.

During a tour of Jinja-based companies, Eskom Uganda Ltd, Umeme, Aggreko and the Bujagali Hydro power project, Maj.Gen. Kayihura said the power-based companies need to be on high alert for possible terror threats.

The police boss told staff and management of the companies to employ effective security measures to prevent terrorism attacks.

July/11 attacks
The warning follows the July 11 bomb blasts in Kampala, where some 76 people were killed and scores others injured. The Somali- based al Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attacks.

In what he described as “target hardening of the most vulnerable high-value infrastructures in the country”, Maj.Gen. Kayihura said their diagnosis indicated that these organisations were susceptible to terror attacks.

He was, however, non-committal on whether they had obtained information suggestive of a threat against the sensitive installations.

Security measures
“We have embarked on a programme of putting in place security measures to counter terrorism threats. We are concentrating on high value targets like energy generating installations, dams and water tanks. These could be serious targets,” he said during a press briefing.

According to a checklist handed out to the organisations by Mr Grace Turyagumanaye, the deputy director in charge of operations, premises of energy installations should have a perimeter fence, a gate and a walk -through metal detector or hand probe.

Impromptu checks done earlier by the district security team, revealed that most of the organisations lacked the required security measures.