Uganda Police Annual Crime Report 2010

FOREWORD

Major-General Kale Kayihura

Inspector-General of Police

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I am pleased to present the Annual Crime and Traffic/Road Safety Report for the year 2010.

I would like, from the outset, to acknowledge and commend the positive contribution that sister security agencies, that is, the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF), the Internal Security Organization (ISO), the External Security Organization (ESO) and the Uganda Prisons Service, have made in reinforcing the role of the Police in law enforcement over the years.

Other local and international partners, with whom we have worked closely in recent times, include the Uganda Bureau of Statistics and the Faculty of ICT of the Makerere University, in the crucial area of Crime Data Management, JLOS, Interpol, as well as other law enforcement agencies of partner states.

As I have reiterated over time, it is only through deliberate and structured partnerships with other like-minded bodies and organizations, that we are able to combat criminality, and keep our respective societies secure.

Given the increasing global character of social interaction, and the borderless communities made possible by the rapid development in technology, it is not surprising that criminals have also jumped on board, and ingratiated themselves in these cyber communities, to cause mischief.

Cyber crimes, money laundering, narcotics and terrorism are some of the categories of crime that are fast evolving, from the traditional modes of commission, to sophisticated methods, using the easily accessible platform of technology.

The Uganda Police Force recognizes the devastating potency of these threats, and the resultant policing challenges they pose.

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And it is for this reason that we are investing in ICT, both training and equipment, and also re-orienting our investigative techniques, to better meet the new risks, and protect society from these crimes.

Crime in 2010

The overall picture of crime in the country over the last year is that, for the fifth year in a row, the volume of crime has continued to decline. The country recorded a decrease in crime by 4%, in 2010.

Last year, we broke the psychological barrier, and, for the first time in over 10 years, crimes committed in the country were under 100,000 cases.

This consistent reduction in crime over the last five years is made even more remarkable by the fact that, over the same period, the population has continued to increase.

But whereas we acknowledge that the declining reports of crime is a vindication of the radical changes we have made, both in approach to policing, as well as the extensive organizational restructuring that we have undertaken within the Police, we also recognize that, in addition to conventional challenges in crime, we are now faced with new realizations that are going to test our organizational and technical skills to the limit.

Incidents under the key crime categories of homicide, ritual murders, economic crimes and anti-narcotic offences were generally lower, while cases of corruption investigated last year were significantly higher, than the previous year.

From my personal perspective, the year 2010 was a sad year for law enforcement agencies in the country. It is shall be remembered as the year that evil terrorists visited death and destruction on a peaceful and innocent people.

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On July 11th, 2010, the Al Shabaab terrorists detonated two explosive devices at the Kyadondo Rugby Grounds, and one at the Ethiopian Village, in Kampala, as wananchi watched the World Cup Finals. A total of seventy-eight (78) persons died, and eighty-nine (89) were injured in the two incidents.

Subsequent investigations revealed a complex support network of international terrorism, sponsored by Al Qaeda, with tentacles in the entire region, as the brains and executors of the terror attacks against our country.

And in an outstanding demonstration of brotherly cooperation between States in the region, the joint investigation teams, set up in Kampala and Nairobi, Kenya, were able to positively identify and arrest most of the actors responsible for the heinous crimes.

I commend the heroic efforts of all persons involved, at all levels, from the medical personal who worked tirelessly to save the lives of the survivors, to individuals who volunteered information and selflessly assisted in the investigation, as well as the officers who indefatigably toiled without a break, in the aftermath of the bombings.

The Governments of Kenya, Tanzania, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Israel, South Africa and other global organizations like Interpol, stood with us in the hour of need, and demonstrated true friendship, by providing much-needed technical assistance and information, that was critical in the resolution of this case.

We, presently, are building on our successes in the dismantling of cross-border terror networks, following the Kampala bombings.

In the spirit of East African Cooperation, and under the East African Police Chiefs Organization, we are in the process of streamlining the sharing of information and resources in our anti-terrorism efforts.

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Locally, we appreciate that it is through working with the community, and perpetual vigilance, that we can prevail over the threat of terrorism in our midst.

We have intensified our mobilization and sensitization efforts, which are designed to educate as well as guide the public, in ways of protecting themselves from the possibility of terrorist attacks.

In the evening of March 16th, 2010, a catastrophic fire broke out at the Kasubi Tombs. The fire engulfed and completely burned down the Muzibu Azaala Mpanga tomb. Most of the priceless relics were destroyed in the fire.

The tombs were a national treasure, whose cultural significance and international importance had been recognized by their listing as one of the very few protected UNESCO sites in the world.

The Government set up a commission of Inquiry into the burning of the Tombs. The Police investigation into the burning of the tombs was suspended, pending the outcome of Inquiry.

As of today, we are still waiting for the final report, after which we shall implement the recommendations of the Commission, and complete the investigations.

Another tragic incident that defined a low point in 2010, was the kidnapping, and subsequent murder of the little boy, Kham Kakama.

The murder of baby Kham brought to the fore the brutal and cold- blooded transformation of the mindset in our criminal class.

The little child was not a threat to the kidnappers, and they could have easily set him free, and kept him alive. Yet they chose to needlessly snuff out his innocent life.

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It gave me no satisfaction that the actual murderers were arrested and charged.

Violent crimes against children, though in decline over the last two years, still are an appalling reflection of the insensitive and heartless nature of those knowingly committing these crimes.

Since most of these crimes occur under conditions where the child should, in ordinary circumstances, be protected, it is difficult for Police to proactively intervene to prevent the commission of these offences. Nonetheless, where they occur, the Police have acted swiftly and, in majority of the cases, arrested the culprits and had them charged in court.

I expect to see the volume of crimes against children continue to decrease.

Another case of note in 2011 was the murder, and eventual recovery of the body, of Miss Brenda Karamuzi, from a septic tank, in Bukasa zone of Makindye Division, Kampala.

Brenda, who was described as a cheerful and generally happy girl, believed that she was visiting a genuine friend. She ended up dead at the cruel hands of the person she trusted.

Her murder, and the great lengths to which the murderers went to conceal the gruesome act, tested the Police’s investigative and technical capabilities to the limit.

I was, personally, involved in the investigation of the above two murders, and the lessons learnt have, to a large extent, influenced the increased investment in forensic science, and acquisition of equipment, in Police.

For a very long time, and up to this moment, we have been sending crucial bits of our evidence abroad for scientific analysis, even when

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we have the requisite skills in-house, for lack of essential forensic tools.

Many times, we have lost cases in court we ought not have lost. Investigations have stagnated for years, for want of science and technology in the CID.

The Government Analytical Laboratories have their limitations, and serve the entire Government forensic needs.

The Police required a dedicated scientific platform, specifically designed to resolve forensic constraints in criminal investigations.

I am happy to report that the Police Forensic Sciences building is complete, and it shall be fully equipped and operational within the next six months.

The immediate impact of this development will be felt in the efficient and fast resolution of cases under investigation, and, eventually, in successful prosecutions in court.

One other area I am now focusing on in CID is the issue of case backlog.

Every year, tens of thousands of cases are carried forward to the following year, uncompleted. As the usual circle of crime would dictate, fresh cases are reported every day, and, gradually, older cases left uncompleted lose the urgency they initially generated and, inadvertently, they die a natural death.

Complainants give up, or grow desperate. I must admit that this feeling of despondency, due to the inability of detectives to put closure to cases, has contributed to instances where people opt for alternative means of justice.

I relentlessly remind CID detectives that the integrity of the investigation process must be protected at all times, and this can only

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be achieved when CID detectives display a high degree of professionalism, efficiency, and transparency, in their investigations, and in the handling of reports and complaints from the public.

To arrest this worrying trend of uncompleted investigations, I have commissioned a Case Backlog and Investigation Monitoring Secretariat, under my office, to regularly monitor the progress of all cases reported for investigation.

In addition, CID commanders will, with effect from May 1st, 2011, be giving regular status reports and updates to complainants on the progress of their cases.

And to promote transparency, CID commanders shall provide written explanations, to the respective complainants, for all cases lost or discharged in court. These reports will be copied to the DPP and to me.

The overall objective is to improve the delivery, and the quality, of police investigative services to the public.

This is just one of the many aggressive initiatives we are undertaking within the CID to make us more responsive, and empathetic, to persons who come to us in search of justice.

And while I am proud to report that the general public is increasingly, and proactively, working with the Police to combat criminality in our communities, there are a few misguided individuals who sour this impressive partnership by arbitrarily taking the law into their hands, and committing heinous offences in the process.

Of specific concern is the spate of mob action witnessed in the country recently. Mob action often results in death.

Recently, two innocent boda-boda riders were ambushed and killed in cold blood by other boda-boda riders, on the suspicion that they were thieves, just because the killers did not know them.

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This kind of killing is unlawful. It is murder.

Yet again, I have given strict instructions to the Director of CID to ensure that any person found to have participated in mob action be investigated and charged with murder.

As mentioned earlier, cyber crimes, money-laundering, anti-narcotics offences and public order management are some of the more pressing areas that urgently require stronger laws to stem their escalating negative impact in our society.

I am also particularly concerned at the apparent liberal access to bail and bond that is granted to suspects charged with serious offences, including murder, narcotic offences and even defilement.

Many of these suspects are serial offenders, who often repeat these crimes once they are out on the streets. This vicious circle of arrests, followed by nearly instant release, is a significant contributor to the loss of public confidence in the justice system. In fact, I attribute increasing incidents of mob action to this liberal attitude towards release of dangerous and repeat offenders.

Once again, I extend my deepest gratitude to our most loyal and enthusiastic partners, the members of the public, who have come out faithfully, and often under very trying conditions, to work with us. They are our secret weapon in combating criminality.

Thank you.

Major-General Kale Kayihura

Inspector-General of Police

22nd April, 2011.

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Comparison of the Crime Rates (From 2004-2010)

Table 2: Districts with highest numbers of reported crimes

Table 3: Districts with lowest numbers of reported crimes

Table 4: Comparison of Homicides

Table 5: Comparison of Homicides per Region

Table 6: Districts/Police Divisions with Highest volume of Homicides Table 7: Distribution of incidents of suspected ritual murders

Table 8: Category of suspects implicated in ritual murders

Table 9: Victims of 11th July 2010 Bombings

Table 10: Breakdown of Economic Crimes

Table 11: Top five Districts/Divisions in Economic.

Table 12: Categories of Land Fraud

Table 13: Top Five Districts/Divisions in Robbery

Table 14: Comparison of Breakings

Table 15: Top Five Districts/Divisions in Breakings

Table 16: Structures where fire incidents that were handled occurred

Table 17: Major cases of fire handled in 2010

Table 18: Juveniles as Victims of Crime

Table 19: Juveniles as accused or suspects in different categories of crime Table 20: Number of women accused of selected crimes

Table 21: Annual Road Traffic Accidents 2007 – 2010

Table 22: Nature of Road Traffic Crashes for the period January- December (2009 and 2010) Table 23: Monthly Trend of Accidents January – December 2010

Table 24: Accident Distribution by Region

Table 25: Road Accident Casualties in 2009 and 2010

Table 26: Number of fatalities by Road User Groups in 2009 and 2010

Table 27: Number of persons seriously injured by Road User Group in 2009 and 2010 Table 28: No. of Persons slightly Injured by Road User group in 2009 and 2010 Table 30: Comparison of Accident Victims by Age and Gender for 2009 & 2010 Table 31: Nature of Accident with respect to Time

Table 32: Nature of Accidents with respect to Causes January – December 2009 & 2010 Table 33: Class of Vehicle Involved in Accidents

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Table 34: Express Penalty Scheme January – December 2010

Table 35: Ownership of Vehicles Involved in Crashes 2009 & 2010

Table 36: Drivers tested per class of driving permit for the period 2009 & 2010 Table 37: Comparisons of vehicle inspections for 2009 & 2010

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Crime comparison 2004-2010

Figure 2: Crime Rate Comparison for seven years

Figure 3: Monthly Crime Trend for years 2009 & 2010

Figure 4: Bar & Line Graph Showing Fatality rate per 100,000 Human Population (2007 – 2010)

Figure 5: Bar & Line Graph Showing Fatality Rate per 10,000 Vehicle population

Figure 6: Line Graph Showing Monthly Trend of Crashes for the period January- December 2010

Figure 7: Bar Graph Showing Accident Victims by Age and Gender

Figure 8: Line Graph Showing Time of Crashes

Figure 9: Bar Graph Showing Causes of Accidents

Figure10: Bar Graph Showing Class of Vehicle Involved in Accidents

APPENDICES

Appendix I : Crime by Crime

Appendix II : Crime by Regions/Districts

Appendix III: Distribution of Accidents by Region/ Districts and Nature for the Period Jan – Dec 2010

Appendix IV: Distribution of Accident Victims by Region/ District Jan – Dec 2010

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ACRONYMS

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DEFINITIONS

CRIME

Is an act, omission or attempt in violation of criminal law.

Crime Rate

Is the incidence of crime per 100,000 people.

Incidence of Crime

The total number of crimes reported per population of interest over a given period of time in a defined area (territory/country).

Population (human)

The number of people living in a particular geographical area or location.

Motor Vehicle

Any self propelled vehicle intended or adapted for use on the road.

Child / Juvenile

Is a person below 18 years of age (Children Statute 1997).

Adult

A person aged 18 years and above, as per the Constitution of Uganda.

Victim

A person who is offended as a result of a criminal act.

Workload

The number of cases investigated by a detective at a given point in time.

Detection

The establishment as to whether or not offence(s) have been committed.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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FINES IMPOSED / AWARDED

PERSONS CHARGED

ROAD TRAFFIC CRASHES FOR 2009 AND 2010

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ANNUAL CRIME REPORT-2010

1.0.INTRODUCTION

This Annual Crime Report covers the period from January 1st, 2010, to December 31st, 2010.

In 2010, the number of reports and complaints made to Police were

262,936 out of which 99,917 cases were investigated as criminal in nature compared to 103,592 criminal cases investigated in 2009 thereby reflecting a decrease in the volume of crime by 4%. In the year under review 163,260 cases were civil in nature and complainants were advised to seek civil remedies.

Figure 1: Crime Trend comparison 2004-2010

This downward trend has been due to a combination of factors such as increased police/security vigilance, increased police deployments, public awareness, enhanced community policing, increased public confidence in police and increased resources such as motor vehicles and motor cycles for patrols.

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2.0.GENERAL ANALYSIS OF CRIME 2009 & 2010

2.1.Rate of crime in 2010

At the estimated growth rate of 3.4%, the population of Uganda was 30,810,892 by the end of 2010. [This is based on the bench mark figure of 2002 Census of 24,748,977 people as of September that year].

The Crime Rate was, therefore, estimated at:

99,917

31,800,000

This means that, out of every 100,000 people, 314 were victims of crime.

2.2.Crime Rate Comparisons

There was a decrease of 6.5% in the crime rate in the year 2010, in comparison to the year 2009 as shown in the table below:

Table 1: Comparison of the Crime Rates (From 2004-2010)

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Figure 2: Crime Rate Comparison for seven years

2.3Monthly Crime Rate

On average 8,326 crimes were reported per month in 2010, compared to

8,632 crimes in 2009.

Figure 3: Monthly Crime Trend for Years 2009 & 2010

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2.4The leading Crimes in 2010 were:

2.5Crime by Districts/Divisions

Table 2: Districts with Highest Number of Reported Crimes

3.0CASE MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS

The case management measures in the year under review involved crime investigation and JLOS based initiatives of case backlog reduction through quick win criminal sessions and case weeding.

3.1Cases investigated

In 2010, out of the 99,917 cases that were investigated, 29,282 cases were taken to Court.

3.2.Quick win high court sessions

The case backlog reduction under this JLOS initiative was handled through the Special sessions of the High Court, Chief magistrate, and Grade One magistrate courts.

The targeted areas under this initiative were Western, South Western, Mid Western, Central Southern and South Eastern Uganda,

During this exercise, 30 criminal sessions of the high court were successfully conducted in Masindi (2), Fort portal (2), Mukono (4) Mbarara (4), Masaka (3), Bushenyi (3), Jinja (2), Iganga (1) Entebbe (1) and Rukungiri (3).

In total, 1,673 cases were disposed.

The chief magistrate courts sessions disposed off 392 cases, while 627cases were handled in the grade I Magistrates courts.

3.3Case weeding.

The focus of this exercise was to rid the JLOS institutions of all cases considered unmeritorious. Unmeritorious cases were defined as cases that were reported between the 1990s and 2009 which fall under the following

categories;

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i.Where the complainants lost interest or opted to settle their cases out of police or court while the Police files remained open.

ii.Where the Police case files were still open though the investigations had not established any evidence.

iii.Cases where accused person were not known or identified.

iv.Where the accused persons jumped police bond or court bail but Police case files remained open.

3.4.As a result of the above JLOS initiatives the following achievements were realized;

1)A total of 59,276 different criminal cases were weeded out.

2)A total of 16,552 criminal cases were closed.

3)15,707 cases were committed to the high court.

4)123 cases were concluded in court with 52 convictions and 71 acquittals and dismissals.

3.5.Cases referred to the General Court Martial

A total of 136 cases were referred to the General Court Martial. These cases involved the commission of crimes using equipment ordinarily used by the army.

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4.0.CRIME BY CRIME ANALYSIS

4.1.HOMICIDES

In 2010, the numbers of homicides investigated were 1,761 cases compared to

2,669 cases in the year 2009. This reflects a 34% decrease.

Table 4: Comparison of Homicides

Table 5: Comparison of Homicides per Region

Table 6: Districts/Police Divisions with Highest Volume of Homicides

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4.1.1.Death by shooting

A total of 239 cases were investigated in 2010 as compared to 280 cases investigated in 2009 thus a 15% reduction. Most of these were registered in Northern, Central, South Western, Eastern and North Eastern Regions.

4.1.2.Death by Mob Action

A total of 357 cases of Mob Action were investigated in 2010 compared to

332 cases in 2009 hence an increase by 7.5%. This is attributed to delay in justice dispensation contrary to punishment awarding in African context which is instant thereby causing discontent among the public.

4.1.3.Death through Domestic Violence

Incidences of Death through Domestic Violence reported to the police in 2010 were 159 compared to 165 Cases in 2009; a decrease of 3.6%.

4.1.4.Death by other causes

This category includes cases of death such as suicide, mysterious deaths, drowning e.t.c. A total of 777 Cases were reported in 2010 as compared to

1,650 Cases reported in 2009 hence giving a 52% reduction.

4.1.5.Human sacrifice/ritual murders

Incidents of suspected ritual murders decreased from 29 cases in 2009 to 14 cases in 2010. Out of the 14, 09 were juveniles while 05 were adults.

There were 02 cases of attempted murder for witchcraft rituals in 2010 as compared to 01 case registered in 2009. Some other criminal incidents related to human sacrifice included being in possession of human body parts and digging of graves to remove body parts for witchcraft rituals (03).

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A total of 43 suspects were arrested for interrogation in 2010, out of whom 26 were taken to court and charged with murder, 04 charged with attempted murder and causing grievous harm for witchcraft purposes, while 02 were charged with criminal trespass and harming a dead body.

Table 7: Distribution of Incidents of Suspected ritual Murders

Table 8: Categories of Suspects Implicated in Ritual Murders in 2009 and 2010

4.1.5.1. Reasons for the decrease of Ritual Murder incidences

Increased vigilance by the Police, media/press, concerned NGOs, Religious

Leaders, Senior Government Officials and members of the public against the

crime.

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4.1.5.2.Shortcomings and Out Standing Challenges

i)There are still many people who believe in witchcraft and practice suspicious rituals.

ii)Fake traditional healers/herbalists (bafere) still exist.

iii)Reports of missing persons and suspected ritual murders are sometimes made late to Police and the scenes of crime are sometimes tampered with before arrival of Police officers.

iv)There are general delays in concluding the prosecution process whereby some suspects have been released on bail after the mandatory remand period and they end up interfering with the witnesses or hide away.

v)Laxity by some parents, guardians and those entrusted with taking care of the children is still a problem.

vi)Lack of a clear Government policy on the conduct of traditional healers has made it difficult to identify the criminal ones amongst them.

4.1.5.3.Way Forward

i.Close follow up by the Police of all the outstanding cases and new reports related to human sacrifice shall continue.

ii.Application of the new harsher law of “The Prevention of Trafficking in

Person Act 2009”

iii.Registration of traditional healers for easy monitoring.

iv.Public sensitization against witchcraft practices and on the need for security consciousness, and good preservation of scenes of crime.

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4.2.TERRORISM

In the year under review, there were two (02) incidences of terrorism registered in the country.

On 11th July 2010 as Ugandans were watching the 2010 football world cup final in various places, terrorists carried out attacks at two (02) different locations at Kyaddondo Rugby Club Lugogo and Ethiopian Village Restaurant in Kabalagala in which seventy eight (78) people died and eighty nine (89) injured. There was also an unsuccessful attempt in Makindye Division in Kampala

Table 9: victims of 11th July 2010 Bombings in Kampala

The threat of terrorism has persisted in the country as per intelligence reports and therefore a need for the public to cooperate with security in the maintenance of vigilance and alertness.

4.3.TREASON

During the period under review, 2 Treason offences were reported and investigated, compared to 07 cases in the previous year (2009).

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4.4.WAR CRIMES:

The year under review, Police registered nil case as compared to 2009 where we registered one case and the suspect were charged awaiting trial in war crimes court.

4.4.1.MAJOR CHALLENGES FACED

•Amnesty law, most of the suspects who have ever been amnestied after they are released they go back to the acts of terrorism

•Non criminal exploit the amnesty law to report themselves as former rebels and when we investigate we discover that these are innocent people looking for amnesty money.

•The 48 hour rule which is practically impossible to implement

•Bail; suspects charged under terrorism acts/treason when bailed out they jump bail e.g. Laurence Kiwanuka who was DP Publicity Secretary, was charged before court in 1990’s with treason and jumped bail, as of now he has formed a new rebel group.

•Anti Money Laundering law which is a bill before parliament. Without such a law in place, it is difficult to trace, freeze, investigate and monitor terrorism financing.

4.5.CORRUPTION (Public Sector Fraud)

This involves corruption related cases occurring in the public sector i.e. Ministries, Government Departments, Local Governments and Municipal Statutory Organizations/Bodies.

The cases handled under this category are specified in the Anti-Corruption Act 2009 which repealed the corruption related sections from the Penal Code Act and also created other new offences.

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The greatest incidences of corruption have been noted to take place in;

•The local governments (Districts, Municipalities and Town Councils).

•In the award of contracts for provision of services or goods; there is a lot of abuse/floutation of the PPDA processes.

•Shoddy construction works especially in Primary Schools and Health Centre’s.

•Procurements under the Common Wealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which was held November – December 2007. This area was probed by PAC (Parliamentary Accounts Committee) which referred some cases to DPP/Police and IGG for investigations.

•The NAADS (National Agricultural Advisory Services) a government

rural based program meant to improve rural household incomes.

A special team “the NAADS Task Force” was put in place by the Hon. Minister of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) from September 2009 till February 2011, to investigate abuses in the NAADS programme.

4.5.1. Summary of Public sector corruption cases investigated during the year 2010

4.5.2. Estimated recoveries from public sector corruption cases

N.B

i)In Iganga District, on top of cash there was also recovery of NAADS technologies (200 bee hives) worth 25 millions

ii)In Lira District about one billion shillings which had been fraudulently transferred to suspected Bank Accounts was blocked and put back to the NAADS program

4.6.ECONOMIC CRIMES (Private Sector Fraud and corruption)

In the year 2010, 10,988 Cases of Economic Crimes were investigated, compared to 11,127, cases investigated in 2009 giving a decrease of 1.2%.

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4.6.1.The major recoveries made in this category of crime in the year 2010 were as indicated below:

i)CID HQS GEF 901/2001, investigations led to the discovery that Kasese Cobalt Company (KCCL) evaded tax up to the tune of USD $2,262,698 (Ugx 5,430,475,200). Police brought this to the attention of PS Energy, the Commissioner General URA and payment is going on.

ii)CID HQS GEF 1088/2010, Fraud case to the prejudice of GAPCO (U) Limited of over 1,000,000,000/=. So far 335,000,000 has been recovered and more recoveries being made.

iii)Three Lorries full of suspected counterfeit sanitary towels “always” and diapers “pampers” were recovered.

4.6.2.The major challenges experienced included the following:

i)Lack of money laundering legislation yet the offence is on the increase.

ii)Lack of cyber crime legislation yet the offence is on the increase.

iii)Lack of adequate legislation on counterfeit crimes.

iv)Weak legislation on obtaining by false pretences i.e. conmen “Bafere”

Table 10: Breakdown of Economic Crimes:

Table 11: Top Five Districts/Divisions in Economic Crime

4.7.Land Frauds

A Land Protection Unit was formed under the CID to:

i)Over see evictions and ensure that they are conducted professionally

ii)Investigate complaints of land fraud

iii)Sensitize the public on matters concerning land frauds.

In 2010, 1,870 cases were registered in the country as shown below:

Table 12: Categories of land fraud cases:

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4.8.NARCOTICS

In 2010, 871 cases were reported and investigated compared to 2,034 cases in 2009 reflecting a 57% reduction. A total of 729 cases were taken to Court.

A total of 1100 males and 63 females were arrested and charged in court.

A total of Heroin seized was 7.5 kgs, Cannabis seeds seized were 26 Kgs, and Cannabis plants destroyed were 55 acres. 69 Cartons and 9 tons of other pharmaceutical drugs were seized.

4.8.1. Major challenges faced in handling Narcotics related cases

The Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic substances (control) Bill, 1999 which has a wide range of deterrent and stiff sentences has since remained a bill in Parliament since then and has not been turned into law.

i)Weak legislation with weak and lenient penalties ranging from caution, community services, light fines and imprisonment of short period of time.

ii)Uganda has a long stretch of porous boarder with just a few gazetted exits and entry points.

iii)Lack of equipments like weighing scale, reagent testing chits, water loo for monitoring drug traffickers suspecting to concealing pellets of narcotics drugs in their stomach, a computer for storing and disseminating narcotics drug information from the units to the Regions and CID Headquarters for management purposes.

iv)Inappropriate method of deporting foreigners who have been charged with Narcotics drugs related offences but whose trials have not been concluded e.g. Volker Peters, a German National who was deported from Entebbe when his trial was still going on at Entebbe Chief magistrates Court

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4.9.MEDIA CRIMES

The year under review started with a backlog of 84 media crime cases dating from 2005. In the course of the year the constitutional court nullified the offence of sedition. All the case files in respect of the offence of sedition were subsequently closed among the 59 cases that were wed out under the JLOS case backlog reduction initiative.

The year however witnessed the recording of the offence of incitement to violence as being the predominant media related offence totaling to 99 cases countrywide

5.0GENERAL CRIMES

5.1.Defilement/Rape & other Sex Related Offences

5.1.1.Defilement

Defilement was the leading Sex Related Crime reported in the country

with a total of 7,564 cases investigated in the year 2010 compared to 7,360 cases in 2009, thus giving an increase of 2.7%. A total of 3,401 suspects were arrested and taken to Court.

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5.1.2.Rape

In 2010, 709 cases of rape were investigated compared to 619 cases in 2009 hence an increase by 14.5%. A total of 252 suspects of rape were arrested and charged in Court.

5.1.3.Other sex related offences

In 2010, a total of 274 cases of Indecent Assault, 12 cases of Incest and 86 cases of unnatural offences were investigated as compared to 550 cases of Indecent Assault, 54 cases of Incest and 72 cases of unnatural offences investigated in 2009.

5.2.Robbery

In 2010, 6,025 cases (both aggravated and simple) were investigated, compared to 7,519 cases in 2009 giving a 20% decrease.

Cases of Simple Robbery (where lethal weapons were not used) were

4,483 compared to 5,610 in 2009 giving a 20% decrease, while cases of Aggravated Robbery (where lethal weapons were used e.g. firearms, knives and machetes etc) were 1,154 compared to 1,909 cases in 2009 hence 30% decrease. Of the total cases of Aggravated Robbery, 48 cases were robbery of motor vehicles, 335 were of motor cycles and 388 were robbery of cash.

Table 13: Top Five Districts/Divisions in Robbery:

5.2.1 Aggravated Robbery of Cash

A total of 388 cases of robbery of cash, amounting to UGX 1,426,901,150/= were registered in 2010, compared to 464 cases amounting UGX 1,673,148,711/= in 2009 hence giving 16% decrease in the number of cases of robbery of cash.

5.2.2.Aggravated Robbery of Motor Vehicles

In 2010, a total of 48 cases of aggravated robbery of Motor Vehicles were registered as compared to 87 cases registered in 2009 leading to 44% decrease.

5.2.3 Aggravated Robbery of Motor Cycles

In 2010, 335 cases of aggravated robbery of motorcycles were investigated compared to 302 cases investigated in 2009 hence 10% increase.

5.3Cattle Rustling

During the year under review, 40 incidents of cattle rustling were registered in 2010 as compared to 50 incidents reported in 2009.

UPDF in 2010 recovered 21,190 cattle that were stolen. ASTU also recovered

1,347 head of cattle out of 2,125 heads of cattle stolen. Goats/Sheep recovered were 239 out of 278 stolen in the year under review.

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5.4Breakings

In 2010, 8,685 cases of breakings were investigated compared to 9,703 cases in 2009, reflecting a reduction of 10.4% as shown below:

Table 14: Comparison of Breakings:

Table 15: Top Five Districts/Divisions in Breakings:

5.4.1.Burglaries

In 2010, 5,535 cases of burglaries were investigated as compared to 5,309 cases in 2009 hence an increase by 4.2%.

5.4.2.House Breakings

In 2010, a total of 1,990 cases of House breakings were investigated as compared to 2,377 cases in 2009 hence a decrease by 16.2%.

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5.5.Fire Incidents

In 2010, a total of 669 incidents of fires were reported, compared to 1,853 incidents of fires which were reported in 2009 giving a 63% decrease. This led to 76 deaths by fire in 2010 as compared to 54 deaths by fire in 2009.

5.5.1 Some of the major fire incidents in 2010.

•On 16th March 2010 at 2050 hours at Kasubi Tombs the main house Muzibu Azaala Mpanga got burnt and most of the cultural relics therein were destroyed. The case is being investigated by a judicial commission of inquiry which has not submitted its report.

•On 30th/08/2010 at 0657 hours, Kiseka Market caught fire and about 80 stalls and unspecified amount of property were destroyed.

•On 2nd/12/2010 at 1100 hours Anatolia Enterprises Limited on 7th Street Industrial area got burnt and six (06) brand new motor cycles, timber, compressor and other properties were destroyed.

•In December 2010 a residential house in Kalungu District caught fire and 01 female adult, 03 female juveniles and 01 male juvenile were burnt to death.

Most of these fires were attributed to electrical short circuit; electrical appliances left plugged in power, unattended candles (paraffin and wax), arson and suspected arson among others.

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Table 16: Structures where fire incidents that were handled occurred

Table 17: Major causes of fire handled in 2010.

5.6. Thefts

A total of 23,429 cases of thefts were investigated in 2010 as compared to

27,589 cases investigated in 2009, reflecting a reduction by 8%.

5.6.1.Motor Vehicles Stolen from Uganda and Recovered Outside Uganda

In 2010, eighteen (18) motor vehicles were stolen from Uganda as compared to four (04) stolen in 2009. These were recovered from the neighboring countries of Uganda as follows:

•Fourteen (14) of these were recovered from Sudan

•Two (2) from Burundi

•Two (2) from Tanzania.

They were returned to the rightful owners.

5.6.2.Motor Vehicles Stolen from outside Uganda and Recovered in Uganda

Thirty six (36) vehicles were recovered in Uganda in 2010 as compared to Nine (09) in 2009. These were stolen from outside countries as outlined below:

•Twenty five (25) of them were stolen from Nairobi Kenya and Eighteen (18) recovered in Uganda.

•Seven (7) were stolen from Southern Sudan and Six (06) recovered in Uganda.

•Two (2) stolen from Rwanda and both were recovered in Uganda.

•Two (2) were reported stolen from Tanzania and non was recovered.

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The recovered vehicles were handed over to the authorities of the respective

states.

5.6.3.Theft of Mobile phones

A total of 11,908 cases of mobile phone thefts were investigated in 2010 as compared to 11,477 cases in 2009 hence giving 4% increase. This contributed to 47% of all theft cases registered in 2010.

5.7.Electoral Offences

A total of 672 cases were investigated under Electoral offences between January and December 2010. Many of these occurred during the various Political Party Primary Elections.

6.0SPECIAL VULNERABLE GROUPS

6.1.Child Related Offences

A total of 4,781 Child related cases where children/juveniles were the direct targets/victims of crime, were investigated in 2010.

Table 18: Juveniles as Victims of Crime

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6.2.Juveniles as Accused / Suspects in Crime

In 2010 a total of 1,861 Juveniles were involved in crime, with the highest numbers charged as follows:

Table 19: Juveniles as accused/suspects in different categories of Crime

6.3.Women Accused of Crime

The number of women involved in crime in 2010 was 2,395 compared to

3,977 in 2009 hence giving 39% decrease.

Table 20: Number of Women Accused of Selected Crimes:

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7.0INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

7.1.Deportations

One hundred and four (104) Ugandan nationals were deported into the country, of which 102 were from USA and Europe, one (01) from Japan and one (01) from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Fourty three (43) Foreign nationals were deported out of Uganda.

•16 Congolese for illegal entry

•15 Rwandese for illegal entry

•8 Kenyans for illegal entry

•2 Burundians and 1 Tanzanian for illegal entry

•1 German for drug related crimes.

7.2.Repatriations & Extraditions

Four hundred and nine (409) foreign nationals were repatriated out of Uganda in 2010 as compared to Twenty eight (28) in 2009. Those repatriated in 2010 included Three hundred and eighty two (382) Rwandese, Twenty two (22)

Burundians and five (05) Congolese.

Ten (10) foreign nationals were extradited out of Uganda in 2010 as compared to Ten (10) in 2009, these were (6) Rwandese and four (4) Burundian.

Three (3) Ugandans were extradited into Uganda as compared to 1 extradited from Sudan in 2009. Those extradited in 2010 included 02 from Kenya and 01 from Southern Sudan.

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ANNUAL TRAFFIC AND ROAD SAFETY REPORT

Overall, there was a 1.5% reduction in the total number of accidents, from

22,699 in 2009 to 22,461 in 2010. This was largely attributed to the number of minor accidents which dropped from 10,888 cases in 2009 to 9,975 in 2010.

Table 21: comparison of Road Traffic Crashes for 2009 and 2010

8.0Road fatality trends

The Uganda road toll for 2010 was 2,954 fatalities. This is 220 fatalities (8.1 per cent) greater than in 2009 (n=2,734). Since the 2007 the road toll has increased by13.8 per cent overall. The increase in fatalities was due to improved condition of most of the highways and increased number of vehicles on the roads, coupled with unqualified drivers.

Against the backdrop of an increase in human and vehicle population, the year under review saw a reduction in the total number of accidents. The fatality rate per 10,000 vehicle population fell from 71.4 in 2007 to 46.5 in 2010. The accident death rate per 100,000 people however increased slightly from 9.1 in

2007 to 9.3 in 2010.

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Figure 4: Fatality rate per 100,000 Human Population (2007 – 2010)

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Figure 5: Fatality Rate per 10,000 Vehicle population

8.1.Monthly Trend of Accidents

December` accounted for the highest number of road traffic accidents while June had the lowest (Figure 3). The reasons for this trend is that there are some excitements during the month of December due to end of year festivities.

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Table 23: Monthly Trend of Accidents January – December 2010

Figure 6: Monthly Trend of Crashes for the period January- December 2010

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8.2.Distribution of Accidents by Region

This highlights the accident situation within the various policing regions in Uganda. Accidents were lowest in the Karamoja regions (North Eastern and Central North Eastern) while the highest were found in the Kampala Metropolitan Area (Kampala South, Kampala North and Kampala East in that order). The reasons for this are due to limited numbers of vehicles in Karamoja as compared to Kampala which has the highest number of vehicles in the country.

Table 24: Accident Distribution by Region

8.3Victims/Casualties

A victim of a road accident may be a driver, a motor cyclist, a pedal cyclist, a passenger or a pedestrian. A total of 18,808 persons were involved in accidents out of which 2,954 (15.7%) were killed, 14,148 (75.2 %) were seriously injured and 1,742 (9.1 %) were slightly injured. There was a 1.3 % reduction in the total number of casualties from 18,563 in 2009 to 18,808 in 2010. Table 6 shows a breakdown of road accident casualties in 2010 compared to 2009. There were reductions in the number of drivers and pedal cyclists Killed however there were increases in the number of motorcyclist, passengers and pedestrian killed.

8.3.1 Victims by Road User Category

8.3.1.1 Persons dead:

Among the types of victims of accidents during the year under review, were

1,217 pedestrians (41.2%), 799 passengers (27.1 %), 298 pedal cyclists (10.1%), 512 motor cyclists (17.3 %) and 128 drivers (4.3%).

8.3.1.2 Persons Seriously Injured

The persons injured included:- 3,908 pedestrians (27.6%), 5,568 passengers (39.4 %), 1,127 pedal cyclists (7.9%), 2,642 motor cyclists (18.7%) and 903 drivers(6.4%).

8.3.1.3 Persons with Minor Injuries

Out of the 1,706 persons who sustained minor injuries, 347 were pedestrians (20.3%), 740 passengers (43.4%), 209 pedal cyclists (12.3%), 237 motor cyclists (13.9) – and 173 drivers (10.1%).

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The relatively high proportion of passengers and pedestrians killed and injured has been a cause for concern for the Traffic Department. Public sensitization on road safety has been enhanced to check the trend.

Table 25: ROAD ACCIDENT CASUALTIES IN 2009 AND 2010

Table 26: Number of fatalities by Road User Groups in 2009 and 2010

The table above shows that pedestrians and passengers continue to be the most vulnerable category of road users. They constituted 68.3% of the total number of persons killed in 2010 compared to 65.9% in 2009. For the passengers, drivers are blameworthy for careless driving and over speeding. Careless use of the road by the pedestrians is also common, they cross the road when lights are green for motorists and avoid the pedestrian crossing even when it is near them. A good number of Motor cyclists do not follow traffic rules. As a result many have died.

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A total of 2,003 male adults, 317 male juveniles, 417 female adults and 217 female juveniles died in the period January – December 2010. 9,647 male adults, 968 male juveniles, 2,772 female adults and 761 female juveniles were seriously injured in the months under review. 1,068 male adults, 142 male juveniles, 385 female adults and 111 female juveniles were seriously injured in the year under review. More males were involved in accidents than females. Male adults accounted for 67.6 % of the total number of victims, followed by female adults (19 %), male juveniles (7.6%) and female juveniles (5.8 %). This is due to the fact that majority of Motor vehicle drivers, Motorcyclists and Pedal cyclists are males.

Table 29: Comparison of Accident Victims by Age and Gender for 2009 & 2010

Figure 7: Accident Victims by Age and Gender

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8.4. Accident Severity Index

The Accident severity index measures the seriousness of an accident. It is defined as the number of persons killed per 100 accidents.

2,954

× 100 = 13

22,461

This means that out of every 100 accidents, 13 people are killed.

8.4.1. Accident fatality risk

The accident fatality risk, defined as the number of accidental deaths per 100,000 populations. By the end of December, the population was estimated at 31,800,000 people. (Source: UBOS)

31,800,000

This means that, out of every 100,000 people, 9 people are killed in accidents

8.4.2. Accident fatality rate

The accident fatality rate, defined as the number of accidental deaths per 10,000 registered vehicles. By the end of December, vehicle population was estimated at

635,656

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8.5.Time of Crashes

Table 30: Nature of Accident with respect to Time

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Figure 8: Time of Crashes

Overall, about 32.2 % of accidents occurred during the hours of darkness, while 67.8% occurred during the daytime. It can be observed that most of the accidents occurred at daytime. The highest number of crashes occurred at 1700hrs. This is attributed to the heavy traffic flow during that time. Drivers and Pedestrians are advised to be cautious and attentive during these hours. The lowest occurrence was between 12.00 midnight and 4.00am as a result of less activity during that time as shown in fig above.

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8.6Causes of accidents

•Careless driving was the most common single cause of fatal and serious

injuries accounting for 41.5% of all accidents.

•Reckless driving 29.3%

•Hit and run accidents 9.5%.

•Over speeding 3.7%.

•Careless pedestrian 3.9%.

•Vehicle mechanical defects 3.2%.

Human factors (careless driving, reckless driving, over speeding, over loading, careless pedestrian, under influence of drinks/drugs and passenger falling from vehicle) contributed to more than 80% of road accidents.

The main emphasis of road safety strategies must therefore be on improving road user behaviour.

From the figure below, it can be deduced that the greatest potential for reducing accidents lies in influencing road users to act more responsibly.

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Table 31: Nature of Accidents with respect to Causes January – December 2009 & 2010

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Figure 9: Causes of Accidents

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8.7.Class of Vehicles Involved in accidents

Motor cars formed the largest category of vehicles with 11,818 (34.3%) involvement in road traffic collisions. This was followed by motorcycles

8,078 (23.5%), Light Omni bus 4, 970 (14.4 %), Light goods vehicles 2,551

(7.4 %) and Pedal cycles 1,806 (5.3%).

Table 32: Class of Vehicle Involved in Accidents

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Figure10: Class of Vehicle Involved in Accidents

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8.8.EXPRESS PENALTY SCHEME

In a bid to improve road safety, operations were carried out targeting major causes of accidents and a total of two hundred twelve thousand and eighty six (212,086) motorists were fined under the express penalty scheme during the period under review.

Table 33: Express Penalty Scheme – Monthly Fines and Collections, 2010

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8.9.Annual IOV Returns for the Period Jan – Dec 2010

8.9.1.Accident Vehicle Inspection

During the period under review, a total of 16,892 accident vehicles were inspected countrywide. This is a 2.5% reduction from 2009. Of these 884 were found to be in a dangerous mechanical condition and 143 vehicles were written off for spares judging from the damages that were occasioned on these vehicles during the crashes. 91 % (15,293) of all accident vehicles inspected were privately owned and 4.1% (700) belonged to foreigners. Below is a comparative analysis of vehicles involved in crashes in relation to ownership for 2009 and 2010.

Table 34: Ownership of Vehicles Involved in Crashes 2009 & 2010

8.9.2Driver Testing Returns

A total of 70,925 learner drivers were tested for driver competence at the various testing centres throughout the country. 244 did not pass the test. In comparison with the previous year, there was a 3.2% increase in the number of drivers tested. This is attributed our strict enforcement for those

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without permits and also those with forged ones. Table 8 show comparison

of drivers tested for the two years.

Table 34: Drivers tested per class of driving permit for the period 2009 & 2010

8.9.3 Comparison of Data for Other Vehicle Inspection in the years 2009 & 2010

4,316 vehicles were inspected to ascertain their road worthiness and more than half (3,766) were found to be in a dangerous mechanical condition while 2 were written off. The number of vehicles randomly inspected this year was almost 2 times higher than in 2009.

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Table 35: Comparisons of vehicle inspections for 2009 & 2010

9.0 Achievements

•The Department has improved in mobility and communication which has contributed to increased effectiveness of the Police

•There has been increased level of partnership with other stakeholders including KCC, Transport Licensing Board (TLB), Road safety Council, Uganda National Road Authority (UNRA), ST. John Ambulance, Arrive Alive, UTODA and many others

•The establishment of a toll free line number 0800199099 has enabled the Command to receive reports and complaints in a timely manner for the necessary action.

•There is improved public confidence in the Unit

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10.0OBSERVATIONS

There has been a downward trend in Crimes reported over the years mainly due to:

Increased visibility and Presence of Police in Crime prone areas of the country hence prevention of Crimes.

Emphasis on Community Policing and partnership with the public to prevent and fight Crime.

Strict enforcement to the law through prosecution of offenders thus deterring potential offenders from the commission of Crimes.

Improved supervision of Police work through creation of new Police regions, Stations and posts.

Enhanced Intelligence Collection leading to Intelligence led Policing.

Enhanced Partnership with other Security agencies.

11.0CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

11.1Challenges

i)Work Load; By the end of 2010 the number of Crime Investigators were 4,428. The number of cases investigated was

99,676. Therefore the number of cases handled per detective was 22.The Optimum workload should be 12 cases per detective per year. As per the reported incidence of crime in 2010 the CID personnel who were needed to optimally handle the reported cases were:

Given the Crime Investigations’ personnel strength of 4,428 by the end of 2010

it means there was a shortage of 3,878 personnel.

ii)Use of obsolete equipment like magnifying glass and manual searching of finger print records etc.

iii)Shortage of staff for example the bureau has only 2 Finger print experts and 1 Ballistic expert.

iv)Shortage of police pathologist, currently we have only 8 and yet we need at least 18 to cover all the regions in order to handle sex offences, assaults and examination of suspects.

v)Lack of money laundering legislation yet the offence in on the increase.

vi)Lack of modern forensic tools for investigations yet criminals are advancing in technology.

vii)Manual handling / management of records.

viii)Lack of road furniture (signs) on most of the highways

ix)Most of the roads are narrow

x)There are persistent traffic jams in Kampala City

xi)Insufficient traffic officers to man traffic management countrywide

xii)Unregulated driving schools which affects quality of the drivers

xiii)Forgeries of driving permits and express penalty Forms

xiv)Negative attitudes towards traffic personnel, i.e. perceived as corrupt

11.2Recommendations

a)Need to setup a well established electronic case management system (E- CASE) for easy and timely record keeping and retrieval.

b)Installation of an electronic crime profiling database.

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c)Procurement of an automated fingerprint system to ease the isolation of criminals in course of investigations.

d)Enhanced recruitment and retraining of CID personnel

e)Continuous capacity building through focused recruitments, training, offering refresher courses and procurement of more technical equipment

f)Enforcement of all relevant traffic laws and regulations to the letter

g)Ensure continued professionalism through strict adherence to the Standard Operating Procedures

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Appendix III: Distribution of Accidents by Region/ Districts and Nature for the Period Jan – Dec 2010