The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | An additional 600 Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) security cameras have been installed in Kampala Metropolitan area, covering the areas of Kampala City, Wakiso and Mukono, over the last two months.
The installation of CCTV installations in Kampala was first announced in 2013 but remained on paper until 2015 and 2016 when high profile killings by assailants became rampant. In that period, several prominent Muslim clerics, among other high-ranking people, were gunned down in the Kampala metropolitan area, sending shivers among the general public.
In April, the Police announced that 1,900 out of 3,233 security cameras intended to be installed in the greater Kampala area had been installed. Today, Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga has announced that at least 600 more cameras were installed since then, bringing the total number of erected security cameras to 2,547.
However, Enanga said out of 2,547 CCTV cameras so far installed, only 1,565 are online and active. This perhaps explains why some crime incidents such as attacks on mobile money operators have not been captured despite them being carried out in places that are a stone throw from visible CCTV cameras.
“Out of 1248 installation sites, 1,038 have been covered. The trenching of fibre cables now stands at 1,038 out of 2258 km intended to be covered. Out of the 18 police divisions in Kampala Metropolitan, 11 have online and active monitoring rooms,” Enanga said.
Enanga explained that CCTV cameras have helped police to capture and arrest street muggers, impersonators and motor vehicles thieves. He adds that police are now uploading footage captured from some crime incidents captured by the security cameras to facilitate prosecution of the suspects.
Last week police with the help of CCTV security cameras arrested a robber and a street mugger. Fauswali Isabirye was arrested wearing a police uniform and impounding motorcycles on claims that they had violated traffic rules.
Isabirye was first captured stealing a motorcycle disguising as a police officer in Old Kampala and his image was set in CCTV monitoring units. The cameras alerted police once he was sighted in Ndeeba and was trailed up to Kibuye where he was netted stopping riders.
Similarly, one Ashraf Kivumbi, who allegedly mugged a Chinese national on May 26 along Bombo Road in Kampala was arrested on Tuesday last week while in the process of robbing another driver. His image was immediately distributed by CCTV cameras and he was arrested near Bible House still on Bombo Road.
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