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Uganda: Tackling Crime in Kampala City
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The Monitor (Kampala)
EDITORIAL
17 May 2008
Posted to the web 16 May 2008
Kampala is not one of those places that spring to mind when one talks of crime in African cities.
Our capital city is better known for its funky nightclubs and bufunda where you drink to your fill or until you have exhausted the evening's alcohol budget.
That image could soon change if the current wave of crime, which started slowly at the start of the year, continues. The police are doing their best to keep things from spinning out of control, at least going by the number of suspected criminals they have so far arrested. They paraded several of them in Kampala on Wednesday.
No society has ever eliminated crime but many have controlled it. Societies that have checked crime have done several things.
They have pursued policies that have created jobs, understanding that unemployment is a key motivator for crime. They have invested heavily in education across the board to make sure that even when jobs have been created, the young people have the skills to do those jobs.
They have also encouraged small businesses to thrive by making available affordable capital. That has meant keeping interest rates low.
These societies have also ensured that the gap between the rich and the poor does not widen to ridiculous levels as to lock sections of people out of the formal economy, something that easily leads to immense frustrations.
Of course, these societies never forgot that, having pursued all the right policies, it is still vital to ensure there is law and order. You cannot make good money in a lawless neighbourhood.
So they recruited enough police personnel, and seriously trained and equipped them. The question now is: what are we in Uganda doing regarding all these different aspects?
What is more worrying is that the current crime wave appears better organised with a clear leadership structure. It means rooting it out would be a big headache even if a few leaders are arrested every once in a while. Other leaders would simply emerge and take over. After all, good organisations have succession plans.
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Hours after police paraded the suspects on Wednesday, one of their victims, shot in the leg earlier in the year, succumbed to his wounds at Mulago Hospital. We hope Wilbrod "Ox" Okecho, a national basketball player, did not pass on in vain.
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