KAMPALA – The Directorate of Crime Intelligence – DCI has recovered 1,865 military and Police uniforms in the slums of Kampala City and Wakiso district.
Brig Gen Chris Damulira – the DIC director said the uniforms have been collected with the assistance of volunteer ghetto youth leaders in various parts of the Kampala metropolitan area.
Brig Damulira said following the December 1, 2022 first announcement that a two weeks ultimatum had been given to all persons possessing military and Police uniforms or their lookalikes to voluntarily surrender then same, a number of youth had responded to the warning.
The trick DCI used, according to Brig Damulira, was promising the youth protection from prosecution, in addition to rewarding Ugx10, 000 for every attire that was handed over to the Police, area leaders or volunteer ghetto leaders.
“Owners were assured protection from prosecution. In the first phase we collected 1,865 military attires, Police attires and resemblance. These include 650 trousers, 104 skirts, 132 shirts, 341 t-shirts, 161 capes, and 207 jackets,” said Brig Damulira, in a statement, which Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga, presented on his behalf.
DCI indicated that the attires collected included genuine and look uniforms. These are suspected to have been used by youth in robbing, steal, and waylay people, mostly in slums and rural areas but also staging robbery roadblocks.
Several robbery roadblocks have been erected in KMP this year, especially along Matugga –Luweero, Buloba – Mityana, Nsangi, Nsambya and Namugongo roads.
Brig Damulira warned traders dealing in military lookalike attires to stop forthwith or else prepare to face the law.
Police reminded the public that dealing in military attires or their resemblances as well as wearing them contravenes sections 160, 161 AND 164 of the UPDF Act 2005.
Jackie Nakalema, one of the people who returned military attires and helped in convincing peers to return them said they hire such uniform from relatives of soldiers and police officers who have since died.
Nakalema said the government should always collect security attires of deceased officers from their relatives in order to prevent misuse of such dignified uniforms.
Out of 1,865 attires, 120 were genuine UPDF uniforms, 77 were real Police uniforms while 1668 were just lookalike attires. One of the attires was of a UPDF lieutenant and other items included military and Police rain coats, boots, belts, and walkie-talkies.
Additional reporting by URN
