Police warns residents on Lake Albert to be vigilant on strangers

HOIMA, UGANDA: Following the twin bombings in Kampala early last week, Albertine has warned people leaving on the shores of Lake Albert to be vigilant to unknown persons and strange items.

According to police, the Albertine region has porous borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) where both Ugandans and Congolese cross anyhowly intermixing hence ADF rebels may enter the country in the same format since the ADF rebels are said to be having camps in the DRC which is riskier to Ugandan security.

Julius Allan Hakiza the Albertine region police spokesperson said, since the ADF rebels are said to have had a hand in the current bombings in Kampala, there’s much need for the residents to be suspicious and report strange items and persons in their areas.

He added that some rebels may pretend to be refugees from the DRC at the end causing harm to Ugandan security.
“At this time, we are registering bomb attacks in Uganda majorly in Kampala but of course we are not far away from Kampala, this is a region which is bordering DRC, and even before the bombings, at the end of the year, we always register influx of refugees from DRC due tribal wars, but it’s hard to differentiate a refugee from a rebel since they are all strange people and therefore we are calling upon the general public to be extra vigilant on strangers and always report to authorized persons in case of any, we shall check them and their properties thoroughly”. Hakiza said.

Hakiza further noted that, despite the fact that security has been strengthened on Uganda-DRC boarders, Ugandans should not relax on security matters but they should coordinate with the security provided in their area to prevent crime.

Sam Tumwebaze the Hoima Resident District Commissioner says, they have embarked on sensitizing public on how to deal with strange items and persons in order to ensure stability in the region.
“Our emphasis now is on community sensitization on how to prevent crime and today we managed to sensitize people in Kigorobya and Kitoba Sub counties”. Said Hon. Tumwebaze.

Uganda’s capital city Kampala was hit by deadly suicide bombings which left three people dead and 33 others wounded.