Fire guts Katwe Police Division quarters
Smoke billows from the burning makeshift units at Katwe Police Division on Thursday. Photo by Rachel Mabala
KAMPALA- Fire has gutted houses of police officers at Katwe Police Division destroying property worth millions.
The fire started at about 9:30am on Thursday in a structure that is shared by several police officers.
Mr Siraje Bakaleke, the commander for Kampala Metropolitan Police South, said the fire has been contained.
“We suspect that the fire started from an electric coil that was left unattended to in one of the houses. The good thing fire prevention officers have been able to stop the fire from spreading and saved other homes,” Mr Bakaleke said.
Most of the police officers had gone to work when the fire started.
Fires in police barracks are common because most officers reside in crude units since the force has a shortage of decent staff houses.
In 205 and 2017 broke out in Naguru police barracks.
At least three families share a house in most city police barracks. Others who are left without houses construct their own rough-and-ready units within the barracks.
Meanwhile, several journalists who had gone to cover the fire outbreak received a hostile reception from police officers who pelted them with stones.
Daily Monitor photo journalist, Ms Rachael Mabala said the journalists were blocked from accessing the station as police Fire Brigade battled the fire.
After being blocked, the members of the Forth Estate, mainly photo journalists and videographers decided to record the proceedings from a distance which annoyed the police officers who were manning the main entrance.
The stone-throwing cops who were being outdone by the journalists, fired teargas to disperse the scribes.
