Pauline Kairu and Robert Mukombozi
10 October 2008
Kampala/Jinja — Barely a week after the announcement of a terror threat on Uganda, security has stepped up operations throughout the country to prevent any attack.
In Kampala, police have heavily deployed on streets and walkways between multi- storeyed business complexes among other prime areas. The Police are searching, and where necessary cordoning off areas of suspicion.
Much of the tight deployment has been put in areas with heavy human traffic around the city. "It is true, there has been enforcement since the issuance of terror alerts. We have instructed all police personnel to make necessary enforcements countrywide," Mr Simeo Nsubuga, the Kampala Extra police spokesman, told Daily Monitor by telephone on Wednesday.
He said the exercise has widened to involve searching both private and public service vehicles. Although it has received a cold reception from motorists, as an inconvenience, police authorities insist the search method is very important at this point. "We have to search all vehicles wherever we find it necessary," Mr Nsubuga said, adding that it is a better strategy of unearthing explosives being transported, and netting suspected terrorists.
In other districts around the country, the operation has become tougher. For instance, security authorities in the southeastern part of Uganda have banned motor vehicles from parking at petrol stations among other non-gazetted areas.
The Southeastern Region Police Commander, Mr Christopher Kubai, has issued a warning to petrol station operators against permitting vehicle owners to park in the vicinity of their stations.
Citing areas like Mbikko, Bulanga and Idudi in Iganga, the officer said truck drivers have made it a habit to park near filling stations, which he says are high-risk areas.
"It is illegal for the trucks to park at these non-gazetted areas.
We have authorised local authorities to identify strategic areas and open up well guarded and fenced yards in these locations as a safety mechanism to guard against any eventualities," Mr Kubai said during a meeting with petrol station operators, hotel owners and security agencies in Jinja on Tuesday.
Those who fail to adhere, he says, will have to face the law.
He said filling stations were targets for attacks, and are susceptible to abuse by terrorists. Jinja has always been a target of explosions. It has, over the years, experienced blasts especially in the steel rolling mills.
Last year, experts recovered a bomb on the railway line and a string of 67 others planted in various locations near the rail at the Eng. Dhikusoka Caltex junction about a kilometre from the town centre.
In western Uganda, sensitisation on terrorism has picked momentum. Community policing has been strengthened. Daily Monitor has learnt that apart from issuing terror alerts to hotels, nightclubs, markets and lodges among others, the Police have intensified cordon-and -search operations.
Roadblocks have also been reportedly set up in areas such as the Hima-Mubuku stretch to screen people and vehicles.
"We are applying all methods including cordon and search and community policing at the same time," Mr Elly Matte, the western region police spokesman, told Daily Monitor by telephone on Wednesday.
Such heavy deployment is not yet visible on streets and pathways in eastern Uganda. But security authorities have said they are concentrating on gathering intelligence information. "We have intervened by conducting crime intelligence. We are on ground and are very vigilant," said Mr Saphan Okudi, the mid-east region police spokesperson.
And in the central region, the talk of terrorism has not been taken lightly either. All district police commanders have been instructed to sensitise civilians in meetings and through the media. Local council leaders also have directives to record details of residents in their jurisdiction.
The Central Region Police Spokesperson, Mr Moses Kafeero, said they have been forced to visit and address people in all crowded areas on the consequences of terror attacks. "We can't start conducting curfews because Uganda is a peaceful country. However, we are encouraging the use of metal detectors and we are not tolerating people who park vehicles at petrol stations because terrorists may use petrol bombs," he said.
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