As the new school term begins this week, making sure all school going children remain safe on the first day of school and beyond is a top priority of police.
We want to remind all parents , guardians , Head teachers and all stakeholders that school days bring about congestion on roads which requires vigilance and following some simple safety protocols which include;
Transporting children to school
This involves transporting children to school both day and boarding, and we do encourage all motorists to always remain alert while driving and desist from reckless conduct like,Phone usage , over speeding , double packing etc . Some drivers do not find it important to slow down and let children cross the road.
Parents are also advised to establish contacts or other mechanism to double check the safe arrival and presence of their children at school,especially where the student transport themselves or are transported by third parties.
All parents, guardians and transporters are encouraged to observe specific drop-offs procedures for the safety of the school children.
Parents /guardians and caretakers are urged to ensure children below 10 years do not walk themselves to school. This is because most school children, who lose their lives, are children who walk on foot followed by boda boda riders. They are often hit by reckless motorists or when they come into the path of moving traffic, and are in addition very vulnerable in the threats of kidnap.
Boda Boda transporters /riders have the same rights and responsibilities as vehicles, but can be hard to see. This category of riders is always in a hurry and some do not find it important to slow down.
CHILD ABUSE
Young children are often subjected to abuse during the long holidays, and we would like to encourage teachers and nurses to respond with care and urgency, while handling children victimized during the holiday and to further work with the police and professional social workers to help the victims heal from the harm and the perpetrators prosecuted.
Prohibited Items in Schools
All schools administrators are advised to conduct thorough inspection and screening process on the reporting day and beyond to ensure off limit items are not smuggled into the school.
Parents are reminded to uphold the school code of conduct since students who are caught can face disciplinary actions including expulsion or suspension from school and in extreme cases face criminal charges from police. Some of the prohibited items include pollythen bags [kavera ] , selected electrical gadgets including video games and other flame based products like candles , lighters , matches which are major fire hazards , drugs , alcohol , cigarettes , energy drinks , glass bottles , unnecessary cash and expensive items , and any other items which are deemed illegal to possess or inappropriate for the age of the child or school environment .
We wish all students a happy first term and do further encourage them to always keep in touch with the police for any crime safety related concerns.
Follow-up cases
The police cyber crime unit is actively investigating the origin of the viral car window smashing and violent attack video , allegedly along the Lugogo Traffic Junction we are tracking down the profile of the user that willfully manipulated , uploaded and circulated it on social media , with the intent of promoting fear in the public .
We want to caution members of the public , media outlets on how online fake information is an increasing common phenomenon , where photos and videos are elaborately crafted . We want to encourage all media outlets to always check the authenticity of the images or videos .
Follow up on alleged case of malicious damage.
We would like to inform the public that local artist, Catherine Kusasira , the complainant in an alleged case of malicious damage by shooting to her car , a white primo , under Reg no. UAY 083Y , where the rear tyre were deflated by retired Major General Kasirye Gwanga , has still declined to record a statement despite several attempts by the police at Katwe .
Efforts to obtain her statement are still in place for better leads into her witnesses and facts surrounding the case. We are meanwhile calling upon any other independent witnesses to the crime like bystanders or other victimized persons to come forward and assist in the investigations
If at any stages, she makes it perfectly clear that she will not cooperate with the investigations, we shall seek the opinion of the DPP on whether we can proceed without her statement or not.
Follow-Up Cases
The shocking video attack, which emerged last week allegedly showing the brutal beating and subsequent murder of Kivumbi Isma Muwereza at Ktubulu LC1 village , Katabi Town Council has led to the arrest of two people, namely Kayongo Ismail , the proprietor of the metallic workshop , where it is alleged the deceased stole items from and Nsimbi Christopher , who are on charges of murder . We are also on the hunt for four other suspects still at large, with knowledge about the incident who include; Semujju Umar , Mukasa Matia , Muller Hamid Ibra and Abdu , and we call upon anyone with information leading to their arrest to share it with the police in confidence .
We thank those brave persons who recorded the video of the suspects, killing the deceased while on the ground, since it was a very helpful tool which assisted in identifying the circumstances under which the deceased was murdered. We do highly encourage the continuous use of video recording and images for investigation work.
We want to refute the allegations in the media, indicating that the police tricycle bikes are lying idle and getting wasted at the Directorate of Logistics and engineering warehouse in Namanve . We want to inform the public the fleet is being reorganized for better deployment
As you are aware ,it was indicated during the launch in 2017 that the tricycle bikes were designed for patrols where users consequently jump in and out of the vehicles. They possess features that offer better stability, can travel in reverse and turn a very light radius , carry three people and can be used in high profile urban and rural settings where larger vehicles cannot manoeuvre . Plans to fix sirens are underway.
So far a total of 13 have been deployed as follows ; Police Headquarters Cantonment [03] Counter Terrorism Headquarters [02], Katonga integrated highway [02] , Bushenyi Traffic Office [01], Sheema Traffic Office [01], Magamaga integrated highway [01],Cps integrated highway [01] , which have been branded and marked for better micro management and to ensure the respective units are getting the correct utilization of the fleet . We are receiving reports of increased visibility and versatility to community policing and patrols programs in the deployed areas,.
The remaining balance of 87 tricycle bikes is being branded as well for distribution. We call upon the public to alert management if they see any patrol units being operated in an unsafe manner or doing something illegal.
CP FRED ENANGA
Public Relations Officer
Uganda Police Force
04.02.2019
