Crime highest in five years - report

Kampala- Crime is at its five-year record high, with cases of deaths by use of firearms rising by 20.6 per cent in 2014.

Partial results from the 2014 Annual Crime and Traffic Safety Report show total crime cases increased from 99,917 in 2013 to 103,720.

The report indicates an upward trend in murders by shooting, from 131 registered in 2013 to 158 cases, the highest in the last four years.
Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura, while releasing the partial report yesterday at the police headquarters in Naguru, a Kampala suburb, said several challenges faced by the Force have made his job problematic.

“..Illegal firearms in wrong hands, you know our political background, we discover guns almost every day,” Gen Kayihura said.

The rise in cases is undoing Gen Kayihura’s efforts to fight crime since he joined police nine years ago. The highest national total crime in his tenure has been at 153,924 in 2007.

The police chief said the presence of terror cells in the country, violent extremism and targeted or contract killings were among them.

“You all know that we have busted some terror cells and have been battling the ADF and other terror groups, those that have been killing Muslim leaders and other targeted people such as the late Joan Kagezi,” he said.

Gen Kayihura also explained that the increased crime has been due to the direct involvement of security personnel.

Role played security officers
“There has been indirect involvement of some security officers in criminal activities by hiring out or giving firearms to criminals,” he said. “Although the crime has reduced [between January and June this year], the figures are still unacceptably high.”

He blamed the criminal justice system “for favouring criminals,” saying the issue of cases taking long to be resolved in court prompts people to take the law into their hands.

“I don’t know why we continue operating under this system [where a suspect is deemed innocent until proven guilty by courts of law]. I am interested in justice and that is why I am agonising on this issue. Even when someone is seen killing, the courts will say that person is innocent. Because of this, people end up killing each other,” Gen Kayihura said.

He noted that the system aids repeated crime by the same criminals. “I arrest people and they are given bail and when they jump jail I have another job to look for them in Congo, can you imagine?”
The police chief, however, said they have drawn a number of strategies to address the rate of crime in the country.
“We have embarked on building capacity through recruitment and specialised training of police commanders and sister security agents and coordination among district and other security committees,” he said.

Crime in 2015

Part of the report that covers the period between January and June this year indicates that general crime has reduced.

A total of 122,013 crimes, including homicides, defilement and corruption, have been committed compared with 129,386 crimes committed in the half-year period of 2014, representing a decrease of 7,373.

Some of the cases whose numbers have increased include political or media offences from 82 to 93; terrorism from eight to nine, while 787 cases of rape were registered compared to 743.

Reported cases of incest have also increased from 46 in 2014 to 56 in the half- year period.

Meanwhile, the IGP said the security system of the country is okay and doesn’t call for any alarm.
“It is not a moment to create panic that we are finished,” he said.

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