Police has issued new guidelines that will be followed by events organisers, before securing concerts, gatherings and performances clearances.
Fred Enanga the spokesperson of the Uganda Police Force said that following the tragic New Year event that was held at Freedom City Namasuba, Police has issued new security guidelines to be followed by event promoters if they are to be allowed to organize any entertainment concerts.
The Party after Party New Year concert that happened at Freedom City in Namasuba on December 31st 2022 attracted over 500 concert goers and due to the stampede that later happened, the event caused death to over 10 Ugandans including juveniles.
According to Enanga, the guidelines have already been shared by all police territorial commanders at Regional Police Command (RPC) and DPC levels highlighting that it’s important for all organizers to keep safety and security as a top priority.
“This is based on the understanding that there is always possibility that things can get out of hand when you gather a lot of excited individuals who form crowds to attend an event. In order to keep revelers and staff members safe, organizers have been tasked to always put in place security measures during and after events” Enanga highlighted.
The Police mouth piece made these remarks while addressing Journalists at the weekly security briefing at the Police headquarters in Kampala on Monday.
The new guidelines to be followed by organizers and promoters include writing to the Inspector General of Police for clearance and the letter should include clearly the agreement where the concert is to be held.
They are to also indicate the number of attendees expected, their capacity to handle emergencies, clear and elaborate access control measures, plan to deploy private security and stewards, practical and approved traffic management plan and also providing names and full addresses of artists that are to perform at a given concert.
Serious Enanga also noted that all respective RPC’s and DPC’s must ensure that they physically inspect these venues to ascertain the levels of preparedness.
