While releasing the directive to officers in charge (OC) stations, district and division police commanders (DPCs), police spokesperson, Fred Enanga said the move is intended to minimize incidents of criminals targeting lonely guards.
Enanga explains that thugs robbed the gun they have used in 13 robberies in greater Mukono from a lonely security guard, Robert Oluka from Top Security Company. Oluka varnished after losing the gun to thugs. However, the Flying Squad managed to track him down from his hideout in Busembatya last week.
Police say incidents like Oluka’s can be reduced if all private companies adhere to the guidelines of deploying at least two armed guards per station and ensuring they walk in groups.
Some of the 13 robberies committed by a gang that grabbed Oluka’s gun in Mukono include the December 9, 2021 robbery at Immaculate Nanyombi’s shop where 10 smartphones, two flat screens, and three Lenovo laptops were stolen.
The June 11, 2021 robbery at the home of Ssenkungu Sekyezi where property worth Shs 6.1 million was robbed, and the June 17, 2022, robbery at the home of Richard Kabonzi where a Toyota Noah UAQ 771Q, woofer, and smartphones were robbed.
However, through their umbrella body, Uganda Private Security Association (TUPSA), the proprietors of private security firms have asked police not to capitalize on a single incident and paint it as a general weakness of private security organizations.
TUPSA chairperson, Grace Matsiko, says that when Oluka’s gun was robbed, they reported the incident and they are grateful to the security agencies that have recovered it.
Matsiko adds that the Mukono incident where thugs targeted a private security guard is similar to incidents where police officers or soldiers have been waylaid or attacked at their workstations and killed.
Matsiko adds that they are also facing a challenge of clients who do not want to pay for two guards. Despite being advised that their businesses are at risk because of deploying a single guard, Matsiko says their clients often reject the advice.
Hiring one guard armed with baton costs between Shs 400,000 and Shs 600,000 every month. Deploying armed guards depending on experience and level of training costs Shs 600,000 to Shs 1 million monthly.
Matsiko explains that someone who has property or business worth more than Shs 300 million prefers hiring a baton guard, the reason why robbers who are in most cases tipped off by insiders confidently attack and rob such premises.
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