KAMPALA, Uganda: Police in Kampala have arrested eight suspects during a dawn operation targeting phone snatching and theft of vehicle parts along the busy Jinja Road corridor, following growing public complaints over insecurity in the area.
The operation, conducted by officers attached to Jinja Road Police Division, took place in the wee hours of Thursday morning between 5:00 am and 9:00 am in areas around Wampewo, Punjan, the former Electoral Commission offices and the Jinja Road traffic lights in Central Division.
According to Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson SP Racheal Kawala, the crackdown followed public outcry over increasing cases of phone snatching, theft of side mirrors and other vehicle parts, especially during traffic congestion.
“Preliminary findings indicate that some of the suspects had been masquerading as hawkers and vendors while engaging in criminal activities along the road,” SP Kawala said in a Thursday afternoon statement.
She said the suspects have since been charged and are awaiting court appearance.
The operation forms part of wider efforts by police to disrupt criminal gangs operating within Kampala Metropolitan Area, particularly along major roads and traffic junctions where motorists and pedestrians have repeatedly fallen victim to theft.
Jinja Road has, in recent months, emerged as one of Kampala’s hotspots for daytime robberies, with gangs targeting motorists stuck in traffic by snatching phones through vehicle windows and stealing side mirrors from parked or slow-moving cars.
Ms Kawala said similar “operations will continue as part of ongoing efforts to combat crime and enhance public safety within the Kampala Metropolitan Area.”
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