140 lives lost in nine days to traffic, crime incidents
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga addresses a press conference in Naguru, Kampala, on April 19, 2022. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
The cases are a result of murder, mob action, suicide, domestic violence, and accidents
A t least 140 lives were lost in the country in traffic and suspected crime incidents in just nine days.
According to police statistics, 101 people died in traffic accidents from April 10 to April 18, while 40 died in suspected crime incidents from April 15 to April 18.
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga said they registered 51 major criminal cases in which 40 lives were lost during the Easter festive season .
“Ten people died due to murder, seven people were killed in mob action, five people committed suicide, four people died in domestic violence incidents, three people were shot dead,” Commissioner of Police Enanga said during a press conference at the police headquarters at Naguru, Kampala yesterday.
Attacks on fuel stations
In one of the incidents, armed thugs attacked a fuel station in Buikwe District, where they hacked a guard and left another with serious injuries.
The thugs made off with an unspecified amount of cash.
The incident is one of the latest attacks on fuel stations at night, where thugs pretend to be customers and then attack pump attendants before robbing them.
At least five attacks on pump attendants have been reported in the last two weeks.
The crime rate between April and July is high. Most of the incidents in this period happen at night.
Mr Enanga said they are carrying out sting operations targeting criminal groups.
In another incident, three thugs armed with an assault rifle and pistol waylaid businessmen that were transporting gold worth Shs5.5b in a car at Bweyale on Kampala-Gulu highway on Good Friday.
The suspects tied up their victims and fled the crime scene with the gold. Mr Enanga said the suspects have not yet been arrested, but the Flying Squad Unit has been tasked to pursue the case.
He said they arrested more than 390 suspects in relation to the criminal incidents.
“We targeted gangs operating on the Northern Bypass where we arrested 300 people. Another 21 suspects were arrested in Nansana and we recovered electronics. In Old Kampala, we arrested 53 suspects, while in Katwe-Kevina, we detained 26 suspects. Our officers recovered 78 flat screens and 54 laptops that are suspected to be stolen property,” he said.
Cases under traffic sector
In the traffic sector, Ms Faridah Nampiima, the spokesperson of the directorate of traffic and road safety, said 365 road accidents have been registered since April 10 , and 101 people died.
“A total of 108 accidents occurred in these two days and out of these, 24 were fatal, 57 were serious and 27 were minor.
There were 104 accident victims during these two days and out of these, 29 people died and 75 sustained injuries,” Ms Nampiima said.
“A total of 9,278 traffic offenders have been arrested and issued with Express Penalty Scheme tickets on various traffic offences at various checkpoints in the whole country from April 10 to 18,” Ms Nampiima said.
