4 cars, 13 motorcycles stolen every day, police say
CID spokesperson Vicent Ssekate displays car number plates of stolen vehicles that police recovered from different areas during a press conference in Kampala in November last year. PHOTO BY MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
Kampala- Criminals steal or rob at least four vehicles and 13 motorcycles a day and 95 per cent of them are not recovered according to the 2018 Police Annual Crime Report.
The report indicates that 1,300 vehicles and 5,093 motorcycles were stolen or robbed throughout last year.
Most of the vehicles were stolen in Kampala Metropolitan Police (KMP) South (covering Katwe, Entebbe, Kabalagala and Kajjansi areas) with 256 incidents followed by KMP North that registered 239 cases and KMP East with 191 cases reported.
Rwizi region, which covers the districts of Mbarara and Ntungamo, came in the fourth position.
Most targeted vehicles
The report further indicates that Japanese vehicles are the most stolen or robbed.
The Director of Criminal Investigations, Ms Grace Akullo, said suspects in 253 vehicle theft incidents were arrested and taken to court.
“We secured 51 convictions, the accused to six cases were acquitted, 33 cases were dismissed and 163 cases were still pending in court while 682 cases were still under inquiries by the end of 2018,” Ms Akullo said.
Interpol records show that most of the stolen vehicles are either sold in Democratic Republic of Congo or dismantled and their spare parts sold.
Katwe Division registered the highest total with 90 cases, followed by Kira Road Division (67 cases), Old Kampala Division (60 cases), Wandegeya and CPS Kampala Divisions (51 cases each), Jinja Road Division (49 cases), Kabalagala Division (45 cases), Kawempe Division (41 cases), Jinja (40 cases). Kira Road Division and Mbale (36 cases each) while Mukono Division registered 35 cases.
Theft still rampant
The report finally indicates that car theft has been prevalent in all divisions of KMP for the last two years.
Theft and robbery of motorcycles also increased.
Of the 5,093 cases recorded, police only secured conviction in 3,40 cases while more than 2,000 cases are still pending investigations.
