Crime preventers use police motorcycles for boda boda business

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President Museveni passes out crime preventers recently. File photo 

By MUDANGHA KOLYANGHA

BUDAKA-Hardly a week after the Uganda Police Force bought and distributed motorcycles to coordinators of crime preventer at sub-county level, some of the beneficiaries have started using them for boda boda business.

The motorcycles were distributed purposely for intelligence gathering.

Mr Micheal Odongo, the Bukedi Region police commander, could neither deny nor confirm the development ‘’because he has not received such reports.”

“The force discourages the use of these new motorcycles to carry out boda-boda business other than the intended purpose. We call upon people of good will to impound those being used for such businesses and take them to the nearest police post and action will be taken against such person accordingly,” Mr Odongo said.

The Bukedi police sub-region which covers the districts of Pallisa, Kibuku, Budaka, Butaleja, Busia, and Tororo received 103 new motorcycles.

Crime preventers are also supposed to work with other security agencies like the Internal Security Organisation.

Early this month, the police took the recruitment drive of 36,000 crime preventers across the country.

Bukedi sub-region recruited a total of 1,730 crime preventers.

The recruitment of crime preventers has received criticism mainly from opposition politicians and civil society organisations who have called for the disbandment of the idea.

They argue that the government is creating a militia group purposely to be used during elections.

Police maintains that crime preventers are intended to detect and counter crime within their vicinity.

Mr Odongo explained that after undergoing basic training, crime preventers would be deployed as election special police constables on a 14 day contract basis with an entitlement of Shs11,000 per day as safari allowance.

  

Daily Monitor