Residents of three villages in Kajjansi Town Council in Wakiso District have appealed to authorities for their safety following rampant theft of their property without action.
The residents of Jjanyi, Ddewe and Nganjo villages complained against the manner in which the police are handling the cases reported and release of the suspects without conclusion of the cases.
They separately accused the police and village leaders of conniving with the thieves thereby compromising the security of the area as well as safety of the people in the area.
The residents who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity for fear of revenge revealed that a number of cases were reported at Bwebajja Police Post and others at Kajjansi Police Station but no action has been taken.
The complaints and appeals come amid concerns over the manner in which a case registered under CRB 773/2023 where a one Derrick Kyambadde was arrested as a prime suspect in a July 19 this year's burglary and theft case at Jjanyi village.
According to the residents, the suspect Kyambadde was identified in the CCTV footage provided by Alex Amanya after the thieves broke into his house and stole valuables worth millions of Shillings.
It is alleged that Kyambadde and others still at large broke into Amanya's house and they were captured on CCTV camera leading to the arrest of one suspect.
The residents say that they are living in fear because the burglary and theft of their property became rampant in June when several people were attacked and the thieves broke into their houses and made away with their valuables but to date no action was taken.
"What is surprising and worrying us is that upon arrest, the police did a search in Kyambadde's home after four days and as if that is not enough when the same person was presented in court at Kajjansi, the investigating officer told the complainants that the man was remanded until August 24. Upon inquiring, we learned that the suspect was remanded on Wednesday (August 9) and he was to return on Friday (August 11). He was granted bail and the court adjourned the case to Monday (August 14)," said a worried resident.
Another resident revealed that at the court, the witnessed drummer in the manner in which the bail was granted which cast doubt on the fate of the case being hurried before the release of the forensic report.
Humphrey Nabimanya, another resident, said he was surprised at how a July 19 incident could be rushed to be heard and the suspect released on bail before his case of June 29 is handled.
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"I have almost the same information with CCTV footage of similar people but my case filed on SD NO: 18/28/06/023 cannot be merged with the one in court and instead they are rushing to set free the person accused."
Nabimanya said that thieves broke his window and stole his property and that several other homes have faced similar incidents but no action taken except a July 30 community policing meeting convened by the DPC and other security agencies.
The Kampala Metropolitan deputy police spokesperson, Luke Owoyesigyire said that Kyambadde was released by court insisting that police are not responsible for his release.
He added that if the locals establish that they are not helped by the area's police, they can put their complaint in writing, addressed to Kampala Metropolitan police commander.
