33 vehicles impounded, 28 people arrested over violating Covid-19 SOPs in Jinja

Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Police in Jinja city conducted a Monday night operation where they arrested 28 suspects, impounded 33 vehicles and 13 motorcycles as they enforced the ministry of health standard operating procedures-SOPs aimed controlling the spread of Covid-19.

The suspects are currently detained at Jinja’s central police station awaiting prosecution.

20 of suspects were arrested from the different bars across the city while  the other eight were found on street vending their merchandise beyond 10:00pm.

Michael Mudoola who had come to claim for his vehicle told URN on Tuesday morning that he had hired out his car to friends which was later impounded outside a bar. “My friends told me that they had a sick relative who needed urgent treatment but, lacked transport means to ferry him to hospital, therefore, I hired out my vehicle to them at around 8:00pm only to be informed hours later that, my vehicle had been impounded outside a city bar and all occupants fled from the scene,” he says.

Abbey Ngako, the Kiira region police spokesperson who addressed journalists on Tuesday says that, they often conduct radio talk shows and community sensitization drives before such operations however, a section of people have remained adamant towards adhering to the SOPs.

Ngako adds that efforts to charge the suspects in the gazetted courts of law are underway and they will face two counts of disobeying lawful orders and engaging in acts which are likely to cause the spread of a contagious disease.

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URN