The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Police registered a 9.8 percent drop in crime last year, with 10 criminal syndicates dismantled in 2019, Uganda’s annual crime report indicates.
According to the 2019 Uganda Police Crime report, criminal cases dropped from 238,746 in 2018 to 215,224 in 2019.
“Organised criminal syndicates committed heinous crimes within the regions of Kampala Metropolitan Policing Area, Greater Masaka, and Busoga areas. I am happy to report that in 2019, a total of ten criminal syndicates were dismantled, their members arrested and charged accordingly, and others have been sentenced to death by hanging, ” Inspector General of Police, Martin Okoth Ochola said while launching the report today.
Before these criminal syndicates were busted, they had killed 17 people, shot and injured 10 people, and among others robbed sh267million, three guns, 65 mobile phones valued at sh14million, mobile money float worth Ugx. 2,900,000, seven motor vehicles and kidnapped 13 people.
After busting and dismantling these criminal syndicates, the report states, 60 members of the criminal groups were arrested, charged to court and
remanded, six cars, three motorcycles and 12 guns and 54 rounds of ammunition were recovered.
The IGP expressed concern about the persistent high number of defilement cases even though there was an 11 percent drop in the cases recorded in 2019 compared to 2018. “Defilement still poses a big problem to the Police. In 2019, whereas there was decrease in defilement cases by 11.4% from 2018, a total of 13,682 children were defiled, majority of whom being the girl child. This is unacceptable,” Ochola said.
Overall decrease in crime
Although there was general decrease in overall crime, cases of murder [homicide] increased by almost 5 percent last year. Statistics from the Criminal Investigations Directorate–CID show that police recorded 4,718 cases of homicide by the end of 2019 compared to 4,497 cases in 2018 indicating a 4.9% increase.
The murders are attributed to land wrangles, people taking the law into their hands, family misunderstandings, crime of passion and business rivalry among others. Just like 2018, Mbarara, Arua and Ntungamo districts maintained the top three positions after registering the highest number of killings.
Nevertheless, there was a slight decrease in the number of murders in the three districts. For instance, Mbarara recorded 129 murders last year compared to 138 killings in 2018; Arua registered 103 killings in 2019 compared to 106 cases in 2018 while Ntungamo recorded 97 homicide cases.
There was a 0.4 percent increase in traffic and road safety cases. The number of crashes increased from 12,805 in 2018 to 12,858 in 2019, causing death of 3,407 people yet in 2018 only 3192 people lost lives in road carnage.
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