Residents abandon public toilets fitted with cameras

The newly constructed public toilet in Tororo Bus and Taxi Park in Tororo Municipality, Tororo District, has been rendered idle after operators and vendors abandoned the facility, saying the municipal officials installed CCTV cameras within the facility without their consent.

They say it is against their cultural norms and traditions for an adult to be viewed or monitored through cameras or any other means while answering the call of nature.

The public toilet, was constructed with funding from World Bank under Uganda Municipal Support Infrastructure Development Project.
The objective was to control the practice of defecating in polythene bags, a vice which had become rampant in the town, especially among the vendors and passengers.
Municipal officials say the CCTV cameras were installed for security.

Mr Mohammed Mwima, one of the drivers at Kampala Stage, told Daily Monitor on Monday that they were happy to receive the modern public toilet facility, but the installation of CCTV cameras has forced them to abandon it.

“We did not know that officials had installed cameras to monitor us against our consent and cultural norms. They should remove their CCTV cameras if they want us to use the toilet,” he said.
He said installation of cameras in the facility violates their right to privacy.

“...They should relocate the cameras to any part of the park but not specifically at the toilet,” he said.
Mr Sadick Hirya, another driver, blamed government for failing to defy directives from the donors.

“For us Africans, it is embarrassing for one to view another’s nakedness. Our leaders ought to know this and should have informed their donors before installing their cameras,” he said.

However, during a meeting organised by the office of the Resident District Commissioner at Tororo Youth Centre on Monday, the town clerk, Mr Paul Omoko, said the cameras only view people at the entrance and cannot view a person who is inside the toilet.

He said the aim was to improve security surveillance.
“The park accommodates a big community whose lives cannot just be joked with because terrorists like planting their bombs in public toilets,” he said.
Mr Omoko added that the cameras also help in managing hygiene and sanitation by monitoring any abuse of the facility.

The Resident District Commissioner, Mr Nickson Owole, urged the taxi and bus operators to keep calm and embrace the technology.
“Those trying to oppose technology seem to have a hidden agenda and we will not allow that,” he said, adding that the government is prepared to deal with any individual intending to disrupt operations of the cameras at the public facility.

“The government has injected a lot of resources with the purpose of improving service delivery. This government has capacity to contain any situation that stands to be a barrier to development,’’ he said.

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