New Buikwe police uniports turned into sex dens
Some of the uniports along Nyenga Road, Njeru Central Division in Buikwe District. They remain abandoned and currently serve as lodges. PHOTO | DENIS EDEMA
What you need to know:
- The Bukaya West LC1 chairman, Mr Jimmy Okee, said the uniports haven’t been used for their intended purpose, with all of them currently being used as lodges for sex, or targeted by vandals for scrap to be sold to steel factories
Five newly constructed police uniports in Bukaya East and Bukaya West villages in Njeru Municipality, Buikwe District, have been abandoned and subsequently become sex dens, a trend that is worrying residents.
The uniports were constructed by the Uganda Police Force to address the accommodation challenges faced by its officers in some barracks, stations and posts. They were all meant to accommodate at least ten personnel.
The Bukaya West LC1 chairman, Mr Jimmy Okee, said the uniports haven’t been used for their intended purpose, with all of them currently being used as lodges for sex, or targeted by vandals for scrap to be sold to steel factories.
“The structures have become a shelter for criminals in the area, and lodging for having sex since they are not locked,” Mr Okee said in an interview on Saturday.
Mr Okee added that last year, during a security meeting, officers at Njeru Police Station were reportedly reminded about the abandoned uniports, which he says are escalating insecurity in the area, but are yet to come up with a solution.
“We are experiencing challenges with these uniports that remain unutilised and attracting all sorts of criminal activities,” Mr Okee further explained.
The Ssezibwa Region Police Spokesperson, Ms Hellen Butoto, said the uniports were put in place for a Police Post, but there is currently a shortage of personnel.
“Police Posts have been scrapped countrywide, but for the case of Bukaya, I am going to get more information about these newly constructed uniports that have been put in place and the residents will be informed,” she said.
Mr Ernest Ssenyonjo, the Bukaya East LC1 chairman says that there is no pit latrine, water and electricity installed in the place, which has partly repulsed officers from occupying the uniports despite accommodation challenges in some barracks.
Mr Charles Tooko, a resident of Bukaya West Village, says he fears the uniports will soon be vandalised by marauding scrap dealers, some of whom have started sleeping in them at night.
Mr James Okiria, a boda boda rider in Bukaya East, says the uniports were bought using taxpayers’ money and suggested that they be relocated to a place where they can be of use rather than being left to waste in the bush.
