100 drivers detained for drink-driving

KAMPALA Metropolitan Traffic Operations commander Mr Musinga speaking to journalists at a past event. File Photo

KAMPALA.
Police in Kampala have arrested and detained 100 drunk drivers in a swoop during the Easter holiday.

Kampala Metropolitan Traffic operations commander Norman Musinga said the suspects still in cells at the Central Police Station in Kampala, had consumed more than the legally-allowed amount of alcohol for drivers.
“They will be released upon paying a Shs200,000 fine, and those who will not be able to pay will remain in the cells,” Mr Musinga said.

The police did not explain why they were not taking the suspects to be formally charged in court today, where they could get bail, instead of keeping them behind bars beyond the 48-hour constitutional threshold for detention by the Force.

No fatal accidents were recorded in Kampala and its suburbs as in previous festive seasons, he added.
The police commander for Kampala Metropolitan South Division, Mr Ibrahim Saiga, however, said they registered one accident at Najjanankubi on Entebbe Road.

A hit-and-run car smashed the victim beyond recognition, he said, and police took the remains to Mulago hospital mortuary.

150 ‘criminals’ arrested
In a separate incident, a taxi on Easter hit a boda boda carrying two passengers on Namugongo Road, injuring them seriously.

Kampala CPS crime intelligence headDenis Batte yesterday said they picked up about 150 suspected criminals in a two-week crackdown around the city’s Nakivubo channel area. The suspects are to be arraigned in court today, he said.
“Kampala regions recorded peaceful celebrations compared to previous festive seasons,” Mr Batte said.

His supervisor Dennis Namuwoza said: “It is a new trend where during such a period, we record no serious crimes. People tried to behave accordingly, except for a few serial offenders, pick pocketing and simple robberies,” he said.

According to him, they recorded 26 criminal cases in total, 15 of which were thefts and two of missing or disappeared persons.
Police attribute the relatively low crime rates to heavy deployment of their personal and the military in city neighbourhoods and entertainment places plus intensified highway patrols, particularly at black spots.