KCCA to introduce access cards for staff to boost security

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA is in the process of introducing access cards to boost security at city hall.

The acting KCCA Executive Director, Andrew Kitaka disclosed this while presenting a progress report of the investigations into the break-ins at KCCA.

There have been three break-ins at city hall in the past few months. The latest break-in on August 09, 2019 targeted the Directorate of Public Health where seven Central Processing Unit-CPUs were vandalized.

The other break-ins targeted the Engineering directorate and Legal affairs office where CPUs were vandalized.

No suspect has been arrested in connection to the break-ins. The acting KCCA Executive Director, Andrew Kitaka, says the vandals targeted vital information in break-ins.

He said to address the problem; they have started installing CCTV cameras, saying the old cameras were nonfunctional.

Kitaka also says they will also install biometric access devices to restrict access to city halls.

According to Kitaka, once the system is installed, KCCA staff will have to use access cards with their bio data to be able to access the several sections of the building.

He also says they have acquired more security personnel to man different check points, adding that more will be introduced.

Kitaka also said they have restricted access to the balcony of City Hall building and blocked ducts that harbor utilities.

Some councilors noted that the break-ins could be the work of KCCA staff. Makerere University Councilor, Doreen Nyanjura queried the manner in which security check points at KCCA operate.

For instance, she says the security officer check her bag when she is accessing the premises.  She proposed to the ED that all employees and visitors be checked before and after accessing the premises.

URN has observed that while some people are asked to present their Identity Cards while accessing city hall, some are not, most of them non KCCA staff.

Moreover, security sometimes merely peeps or scans through the bags of entrants.

The Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago expressed dismay at the fact that KCCA has suffered break-ins despite the presence of security officers at city hall.

He said there is need to arrest the head of security Kituuma Rusoke to help with investigations into the break-ins.

He further questioned why KCCA has kept him for long and why the deploying authority hasn’t considered redeploying him, arguing that his continued stay since 2011 is a threat to the Authority.

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URN