Anger as police delay to take up house built by residents

Residents of Namutamba Village in Bulera Sub-county, Mityana District, are stuck with a newly constructed building planned to house a police post in the area.

Constructed using funds raised by the residents, the building has office space, stores, and staff quarters for police officers.

“We have been in touch with the police authority and we briefed them about this project. After completing it, we alerted them to bring police officers to come and occupy it but they are not responding,” Mr John Livingstone Kataza, one of the local leaders, said during an interview on Sunday.

He revealed that they agreed to erect the police post to beef up security in the area since the nearest police station is more than 10 kilometres away in Mityana Town or Bulera Village.

Apart from the tea estates, tea factories, and religious and educational institutions there, Namutamba is a village for many well-to-do families in Kampala and overseas.

“We appeal to the police leadership to value our efforts and reopen a police post here,” he added

Mr Deogratius Lweza, one of the residents, said Namutamba is growing into a business hub, with business people controlling large sums of money who need security.

“We are worried that if we do not get back the police, some people may run away from Namutamba and this will lead us behind in development,” she added.

Namutamba Police Post was one of the posts closed by the police leadership in January 2022 a few weeks after unknown assailants attacked several of them in the districts of Mityana, Kiboga, and Kassanda, killing officers and making away with guns.

The other closed police posts in Mityana District include Kibuto, Kikandwa, Kiryokya, Nakaseeta, Ttanda. Several other posts were closed in Kassanda District. In Kiboga District, four out of the 14 police posts are only operational.

Wamala regional police spokesperson Rachael Kawala said the closure of the police posts was to ensure safety of their officers.

“The posts are not closed for good, they were prone to attacks because they lacked enough manpower, but when we get more manpower, they will definitely be reopened,” she said.

Ms Kawala, however, advised residents in the affected areas to continue seek services from the nearby police posts as the Police authority work out a plan to deploy officers.

Background

The closure of police posts followed a spate of attacks on police stations in various districts.

On December 16, 2022, Francis Nsubuga, the officer-in-charge of Nakasozi Police Post in Kiboga District and Paul Ddumba, also attached to the same post, were shot dead and the assailants made away with their guns.

Earlier on December 7, 2022,  two other police officers - Alfred Oketch and Moses Kigongo - both  attached to Busunju Police Station in Mityana District, were also attacked by unknown assailants after they responded to a crime incident in Sebobo Village, Sekanyonyi Sub-county. 

The assailants hacked one of the police officers before disarming him.
 
On December 11, 2022, Patrick Nuwagaba, the officer-in-charge of Kakindu Police Station, Mityana District, was also killed by unknown people as he was coming from a wedding about a kilometre away from his home.

On October 16, 2021, a police officer was killed and two others left with injuries after suspected robbers raided a factory at Kigalama in Kassanda District along Mityana-Mubende road.