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Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Police in Kiira region has expressed concerns over the increasing cases of vandalism of electricity transmission masts in Kakira town council, Jinja district.
Pylons from over eight masts along the Kabembe transmission line have been vandalized in the past two months.
While speaking to journalists on Monday, the Kiira region police spokesperson, Abby Ngako says that they conducted an operation early last week where twenty pieces of abandoned pylons were recovered from Kakira sugarcane plantation.
“Our officers worked on alerts from different stakeholders, inspected the vandalized masts and conducted an operation where they managed to recover several pieces of abandoned pylons within the sugarcane plantation,” Ngako says.
Ngako reveals that intelligence reports indicate that, the pylons are often dismantled by locals within the community who sell them off cheaply to metal smelting factories or at times fabricate them to make different objects.
Ngako adds that police has drafted a community policing plan to ensure that neighbouring communities are sensitized on the dangers of vandalizing high voltage power transmission lines.
He further calls upon officials from the Uganda electricity transmission company limited-UETCL to increase their patrols along the power transmission lines.
Officials from UETCL declined to comment about the matter.
Charles Kabule, the Kakira town council chairperson says that police should increase security along the transmission lines which will deter communities from accessing them.
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