A spike in crime ushered in by the festive season has persisted, with up to five vehicles stolen countrywide every day, the police has said.
Herbert Muhangi, the commandant of the police Flying Squad, a violent crime crack unit, said 592 vehicles were stolen last year (2016) countrywide – more than double the number (264) stolen in 2015.
“There is an increase in the theft of vehicles because people don’t listen to our advice. We urge them to install the Global Positioning Car Tracking System (GPS), which protects the vehicle by monitoring it online everywhere it moves worldwide,” he said.
Muhangi said only two per cent of vehicles in the country have GPS devices installed.
“GPS [devices] are sold for from $200 [Shs 700,000] to $500 [Shs 1m] depending on the type you want but people fear buying them thinking they are expensive yet they own cars worth about Shs 50 million,” he said.
He added that all types of vehicles are targeted especially new four-wheel drives and company or organization vehicles.
“After stealing the new vehicles, they [thieves] change the chassis number, number plates, colour and its interior to make it difficult for the owner to recognize. The old vehicles are dismantled into spare parts and sold to different markets like Kisekka market and motor garages in Kampala, Kisenyi, Mengo, Nakulabye, Bwaise and other suburbs,” Muhangi said.
He said other stolen vehicles are driven across borders and sold to unstable countries such as the DR Congo. Muhangi said only 58 percent of vehicles stolen last year were recovered, while in 2015, 70 percent were recovered.
He said currently, car thieves are raiding homes at night. Last week, he said, four car thefts were reported at different police stations within Kampala.
VICTIMS SPEAK
James Kayondo, an auditor in Kampala, and Enid Sajjabi, an accountant at Makerere University, had their cars stolen last week. Kayondo said his vehicle, a Toyota Spacio UAS 085A, was stolen from his home in Bunga-Kawuku on January 13 at around 2.45am. He said he woke up at around 1:30am and heard dogs barking in the neighborhood.
“I peeped through the windows but I didn’t see anything. After 30 minutes, when dogs stopped barking, I heard someone start my vehicle and when I peeped through the window again, I saw the gate opened wide and two people were inside my car driving it off,” he said.
Kayondo said he made an alarm and neighbours woke up. Kayondo and his neighbours got into another vehicle and chased to the thugs.
“Unfortunately we never got them and when we reported the theft to Ggaba police they also started tracking it but in vain,” he said.
Sajjabi, the accountant, said her maroon Toyota Noah registration number UAY 094N was also stolen at 3am last week from her home in Komamboga, along Gayaza road.
“I don’t know how they entered our fence but when I woke up, I saw the vehicle moving out. The thugs gave poison to the dogs and they died before they entered,” she said.
She reported the case to Central police station (CPS) in Kampala and Sekanyonyi police post.
“However, they assured us that the vehicle has not yet crossed the borders and it might be hidden in garages in Kampala,” Sajjabi said.
Police says other vehicles are stolen from streets and parking yards. Others are stolen from washing bays and motor vehicle garages using duplicate keys.
Muhangi advised people to deal only with garage or washing bay owners, but not workers.
“Last month, we arrested a car washer who confessed to have given out his client’s keys to thieves to duplicate them. The thugs promised him Shs 200,000 for the job. After washing the vehicle, thugs trailed his client from the washing bay and they stole his vehicle,” Muhangi said.
Muhangi said that last year, using the GPS, they recovered a vehicle which had been dismantled from Kisekka market. He said it was stolen from Kenya.
“When Kenyan police informed us, we started trailing it on the GPS system until we found it,” he said.
Muhangi advised people to park cars in gazetted areas with maximum security and CCTV cameras. He said car owners should install GPS devices and alarms.
“Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) should ensure that every vehicle that enters the country has a GPS like in Europe, every vehicle has an airbag, you can’t drive a vehicle there without an airbag for safety of passengers in case of an accident,” he said.
According to Muhangi, police is still stuck with over 50 recovered vehicles parked at different police stations. The owners, he said, would not recognize them because the thugs changed them.
zurah@observer.ug