By Arajab Wampula and City Post
Sarah Tablique was asleep when she heard an unusual sound inside her house, where she operates a shop as well.
“Waking up, I realized that the situation was not as usual,” she said,
“Bugglers had broken into my house, and stole property worth Shs3m, including my goats and birds,” she added.
A broken glass window on Tablique’s house could be seen, with some smaller particles an indication that that agony was new.
Tablique is among the over 300 residents, living on the mercy of God in Busamaga West Village, in the Northern Division of Mbale City.
“This is the 5th time, they are breaking into my house,” she said She noted that her tormentors are the same, “over and over” again.
Tablique is not alone, Lydia Nafuna also lost her properties to thugs,
“Yesterday they stole my ground nuts,” Nafuna said,
“They steal everything including charcoal even cooked food in kitchens,” she added.
At least three people report cases to the village authorities on a weekly basis, according to Edirisa, the Busamaga West Village Defense Secretary,
“At first they said that am the one keeping these silly boys here, I now chased them away,” he said,
“These jobless young boys have turned our village into a hub of criminality, young women are the target victims,” he said criminality, engineered by different groups of young men has taken over the less than two-year-old Mbale City.
Authorities are equally helpless as these gangs operate in an organised manner,
Reports of gangs terrorizing residents have been reported in several parts of Mbale City including; Namakwekwe Ward, Nkoma, Namanyonyi, Busamaga, Nakaloke, Maluku, Industrial area among others.
Robert Kabili the village Chairperson of Kiteso Cell in Namakwekwe Ward says criminality is being engineered by these gangs who have chosen to terrorize their own.
“It’s hard to deal with them because the majority are children of these areas and when you arrest them, they are bailed out by their parents,” he said Musa
Wassaja a resident of Nakaloke said that criminality could be handled if the authorities wishes so.
“But you will only find them in money-making scandals at the expense of our safety, we are being terrorized on their watch,” he said.
Since Mbale got the City status, the level of criminality has increasingly become high.
On August 8, Grace Neumbe a resident of Wagagai Village in Nkoma Ward was murdered by a group of unknown thugs who reportedly tried to rob her and she fought back.
Locals who spoke to DaParrot, blamed this on poor security, citing gaps in the leadership of M.Nathan the LC One Boss, and his Cabinet.
“This man protects thieves, but when we tried convening a meeting to sack him, our superiors did not turn up,” Rogers Wandulu a resident of the same village said “I no longer trust our leadership if it comes to security because they are only engaged in useless wars,” he added.
The gangs have been resurrected after similar gangs were reported in 2018 when two youth gangs namely; Black Market and Hitters terrorized the locals.
Mbale was among the top criminal topped districts in Uganda, according to the 2019 Police Crime Report.
They were the 9th with 820 cases with Mbarara leading, according to the Report. Several media reports have indicated that the criminality has increased especially after they attained full City Status.
A Report by Numbeo, an NGO indicates that residents of Mbale City are among the over 20 districts and Cities that are leaving in fear due to high levels of criminality.
When Ahamada Washaki, the Mbale Resident City Commissioner, and John Byamugisha the DPC of Northern Division, convened a security meeting on Sunday in Busamaga Trading Center, the residents decried high rates of theft, drug abuse, rape, defilement, school dropout, and murder yet police had got less manpower to handle the situation.
Washaki informed the meeting that the security they sought was only in their hands, “Be vigilant and report these cases,” he told locals who responded to him that, “the police when you report a case ask you for money which we don’t have,”
Byamugisha blamed the insecurity on the high rate of teenage pregnancies.”
These street children are giving birth to fellow street children who later grow up into street men and turn into criminality,” he said.
During the meeting, it was resolved that all video halls in the Market place be closed, and all drug dealers report to the police and make statements with apology or be arrested and charged.
Teams of 5 village vigilantes were formed per cell to help in night patrols.
DPC Northern to increase the manpower at Busamaga Police Post.
Videos, Photos by City Post
