The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Arua, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Residents of Vurra Sub County, Arua district have expressed fears of increased criminal acts due to limited police personnel. Vurra Sub County has only two police stations located at the Sub County headquarters and another at the Vurra Customs along the border between Uganda and DR Congo.
Currently, there is only one police officer-in-charge assisted by a police constable at Vurra Sub County headquarters. Although the government has deployed some of the police constables that were recruited to monitor the elections, none of them can perform the duties as stipulated since they don’t have the necessary training needed and are not allowed to carry guns.
Betty Driciru a resident of Tilevu parish in Vurra Sub County says that whenever they call the police, they spend 2-3 days to respond due to limited manpower.
Michael Aguta, the LCII Chairperson of Ajono parish in Vurra Sub County, says that they find a lot of challenges accessing police services. He adds that the police response to crime in the area is lukewarm.
The Sub County chairperson of Vurra Nackson Adaku noted that the Sub County is too big to be served by only two police posts. He further appeals to the security leaders to restore the police station at Odia and establish more stations to curb ‘increasing’ crimes in the area.
However, Festus Ayikobua the Resident District Commissioner of Arua explains that a survey was done to establish the extent of shortages in the different police stations in the district, adding that they are going to deploy at least 10 officers per police post.
But Richard Okullu, the Regional Police Commander-RPC West Nile has laughed off the fears of a shortage of police personnel saying not all cases should be handled by the police.
Since the creation of Arua City, most of the police services in the former Arua district reverted to the City with few of the outposts remaining in Arua district. According to reports, most of the cases in Vurra, requiring police intervention are land and domestic violence.
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