Oyam residents accuse police of extortion

Oyam, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Residents in Oyam district have accused police of extorting money from them in order to handle their cases.

The allegations were raised during a community meeting organized by the office of the Prime Minister in conjunction with Oyam district local government in Iceme and Minakulu sub counties.

Members accused police of abandoning cases whose owners have not given them money. They claim the officers demand from complainants 5,000 shillings for a police medical form, between 30,000 to 100,000 Shillings to register and also provide transport in order to carryout arrests and investigate cases among other things.

Nelson Obongi, a resident of Iceme sub county says he paid Shs50,000 to police to arrest a suspect who had stolen his bulls but up to now, the suspect is still at large.

“We are getting a lot of problems with the police. You report a case, pay them money and they do nothing. If you are unlucky, they will ask you for more money and still do nothing,” said a bitter Obongi during the meeting on Wednesday.

In his response, Innocent Mubangizi, the Oyam District Police Commander (DPC) acknowledged that there are a few police officers who he described as ‘Non-Pro-people’ who like extorting money from locals instead of helping them.

He was however quick to note that his office receives inadequate operational funding which makes it hard to operate especially in a big district like Oyam.

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