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How President Museveni plans to keep Ugandans safe

Wednesday June 20 2018

President Yoweri Museveni has laid down his plan for security in Uganda, the plan includes the 10 strategies he intends to use to keep Ugandans safe.

Addressing Parliament on issues to do with security,  Museveni said that all the elements needed to defeat terrorism in the rural areas are in place.

‘’They involve detecting, locating and destroying an organised group trying to fight guerrilla warfare in the forests, mountains or bush, quickly. This I can tell you, that this is where we stand now. That is why you hear that ADF is in Congo, but they can not enter here, they know the address of Uganda, but they cannot enter here’’ Museveni told MPs in his address.

RELATED STORY: There is peace in every corner of Uganda - Museveni

He also listed the strategies he intends to use to keep Ugandans safe, and they include;

1 Gunprints -  

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The president says that he has been using guns since 1971, and it was only 47 years later that he learnt that every gun had prints. 

He says that the Police has a machine that can read gun prints, and therefore all guns will be registered, along with the fingerprints. And he says will ensure that bullet cartridges left at the scene of crime, can be tracked to a particular gun, and every gun used to commit a crime will be known.

The President says this will stop the habit of people borrowing guns to commit crimes.

 ‘’other means will be used to track those coming from outside Uganda’’ He adds.

2. Electronic registration of vehicles plates

Mr Museveni says all Motor-vehicle and Motorbike number plates in Uganda will be registered electronically, and these will be installed on all bikes and vehicles at the cost of the owner.

He says the numbers that are being used right now are ‘just a joke’ because they can be screwed and unscrewed, but the ones he is suggesting will have an electronic signal.

According to Mr Museveni, the electronic signal will be able to detect when a number plate is tampered with, and those that try will be arrested.  

The president also says the government will protect everyone’s privacy unless their vehicles are found at the scene of crime.

3: Ban on hoods

The third plan is a reiteration of the President Museveni’s ban on hoodies, which he says can allow people to commit crimes in broad daylight.

‘’The police will challenge anybody covering himself in that’’ Museveni

He also says the helmets people use should have illuminated numbers in-front, and at the back. and these numbers will go into a centralised database.

RELATED STORY: Boda-boda organisations oppose President Museveni's hoodie ban

4: Installation of Cameras

The President says Cameras will be installed on town roads, streets, and highways, and this will ensure that criminals do not evade detection.

‘’Criminals can evade other forms of detection, except the optical’’ He says. 

Museveni also warned that serious criminals actually avoid the use of telephones, but cannot escape the human eye.

5. Helmet

The President said that all helmets will from now on be required to have illuminated numbers that can even be seen at night.

He said these numbers will also be collected in a centralised database.

6. Modern forensic Lab

The President says that the national identity card registration only captured thumbprints, instead of palm prints, and it is for this reason, that they want to capture the DNA of criminals so that incase; blood, sweat, or hair is left at the scene, it is easy to find the criminals. 

He says this can even be used to also pin rapists.

7: Response time of security forces

On the issue of response time, President Museveni says he directed police to revive 999 and flying squad, but ‘’this time the flying squad will be a flying squad, not a crawling squad’’.

He says the flying squad will have drones or Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAVs), cars and light helicopters. 

According to the President, drones can do aerial surveys and there is no need for sending people in the field, and as soon as a call for help comes in, drones can be sent out, to pursue fleeing criminals.

He says the defence committee has authorised 30 private drones, 130 others have applied for licenses, and 500 drones have been impounded because they were being brought in illegally. 

He also called for the regulation of drones because ‘’they can be used to commit crime.


8. Misuse of social media

The President says criminals use social media to threaten violence and spread lies and cause panic. He says the country will acquire the capacity to locate criminals without interfering with genuine users.

9: Scanners

Museveni says the country will acquire scanners to look into containers, and ensure that criminals don’t bring in guns.

He gave an example of when he smuggled guns into Uganda via Kenya in brand new suitcases, and he says such laxity will no longer be possible.

10.  Lean army with a large reserve force.

President Museveni says the country maintains a small efficient force and will be relying on a large reserve force for backup.

He also says the army’s capacity is robust, and there is abundant capacity to guarantee the security of Uganda.

RELATED: No one can destabilise Uganda using weapons - Museveni


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