Police commanders directed to intensify night curfew Operations

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  |  The Uganda Police Force-UPF has directed area commanders to intensify operations to crackdown on all night curfew violators. 

The directives which were issued by the Police Operations Director, Assistant Inspector General of Police Edward Ochom to all district and division police commanders took effect on Tuesday. 

In the message to the commanders, Ochom noted that criminality has increased especially at night because of the failure to implement the curfew.  

“It has been observed that boda-boda riders are no longer observing curfew time as they are seen driving throughout the night. Equally, motor vehicles are not observing the 9:00 pm curfew time and are seen at all times of the night. These continued activities have enabled crimes to escalate,” Ochomnoted.  

“You are instructed to immediately implement the COVID-19 regulations, have snap checks to regulate movements during curfew times and intensify foot and motorized patrols Ochom added in the directive.  

Patrick Onyango the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson said they have been receiving information indicating that some bars and discotheques are allegedly protected by security officers to allow them to operate despite the ban on their operations.

The directive comes on the backdrop of increased cases of criminality in many parts of the country, especially at night. 

On Monday, 60 suspected criminals were arrested during a joint security operation involving the police and military police in parts of Kampala.

Last year, security personnel came under criticism for brutality and extortion while enforcing orders that were intended to curb the spread of Covid-19. 

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