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Kanungu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Traders and taxi drivers are demanding for full time deployment of security operatives along Kanungu-Hamurwa road to stem the escalating cases of Highway robbery.
Kanungu-Hamurwa road connects Kanungu, Rubanda and Kabale districts. The 50 kilometer road stretch is mostly used by traders to transport their merchandise and agricultural produce from Kanungu to Kabale district.
Taxis set off from Kanungu at around 02:00am in the morning make a stopover in Mafuga forest reserve in Rutenga Sub County in Kanungu district and Hamurwa Sub County in Rubanda district before proceeding to Kabale town between 06:30-07:00am.
However, drivers and traders say armed robbers waylay them and rob them of their valuables. According to the taxi drivers and traders, at least three cases of armed robberies have been registered in the past four months.
They say conduting security patrols along the road and a police post in Mafuga forest reserve trading center in Hamurwa Sub County can stem the robberies.
Polly Muhangi, the Hamurwa Sub county LC3 chairman in Rubanda district, says cases of highway robberies along Kanungu-Hamurwa road have fear among road users.
According to Muhangi, says recent robbery occurred on August 19, 2019 when a group of gunmen staged a fake road block in Mafuga forest and intercepted three vehicles destined for Kabale from Kanungu.
Tarsisio Twinomugisha, a resident of Mpungu Parish in Hamurwa Sub County in Rubanda district, says that due to an increase of Highway robberies along Kanungu-Hamurwa road, they have decided to avoid movements during night hours because there are no nearby security personnel to help in case of attack.
Twinomugisha says that cases of Highway robberies along Kanungu-Hamurwa road have been there for many years but security has remained silent.
According to Twinomugisha, in June 2013, robbers armed with a gun and machete intercepted Bosco Arop, the then Kabale District Police Commander who was in the company of a group of several other people including junior police officers on their way from burial in Kanungu to Kabale.
The incident occurred at Kerere village near Mafuga forest reserve in Hamurwa Sub County in Rubanda district. A suspected robber was shot dead and 10 others arrested in a fierce gunfire exchange.
Fiona Tumusiime, a resident of Kanungu town council in Kanungu district, says robbers take advantage of the absence of security deployment in the area to wreak havoc.
According to Tumusiime, they can’t stop using Kanunhu-Hamurwa road because it is the nearest route to connect to Kabale town.
Richard Orishaba, the Rutenga Sub county LC3 Chairperson in Kanungu district, says the deployment of security personnel along Kanungu-Hamurwa road is long overdue, saying that when the robbers fail to rob travelers they resort to stealing timber from Mafuga forest reserve.
Peter Rwakifari, the Rubanda Resident District Commissioner, says although they are aware of robbery cases along Kanungu-Hamurwa road, it the responsibility of concerned residents to write to the District Police Commander requesting for security deployment and establishment of a police post in Mafuga forest reserve.
Rwakifari says once they receive the request, the security team will ensure a police post is established at the black spot. He however, notes that there is need for vigilance to make ensure that the robbery suspects apprehended and charged because some of them are known to residents.
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