10 arrested at Kampala city carnival

KAMPALA.

Police have arrested 10 suspects for engaging in theft at the sixth Kampala City Capital City (KCCA) festival.

Kampala Metropolitan police commander, Mr Frank Mwesigwa, confirmed that the 10 are being detained at Kampala Central Police Station (CPS) for involving in petty crime such as wallet and phone snatching.

Mr Mwesigwa dismissed reports that three police buses each carrying 68 passengers had ferried the suspects to Naggalama Police Station in Mukono District.

“We have 10 suspects in our CPS cells. They were engaging in petty crime. It is not true [that] we have suspects whom we have taken to Naggalama. These are petty offenders and we don’t need to waste time taking them to Naggalama,” Mr Mwesigwa said.

Nevertheless, Mr Mwesigwa noted that more suspects are likely to be arrested since the event is running up to mid-night.

At last year’s festival, 200 people were detained at CPS and Jinja Road police stations. They were arrested during the night as they terrorised revellers who had been swayed by music performances and those who were trekking back home after the carnival.

“Criminals usually come in the night. We suspect there will be people who will try to cause mayhem but we are ready for them. We shall deal with them. Our officers are on the ground,” Mr Mwesigwa said.

Police say they are yet to register cases of children and adults disappearances like it was the case in last year’s festival. At least 52 children and 11 adults disappeared from parents and relatives during the carnival and they later reunited with relatives.