At least 91 people died in crime-related incidents during the Easter holidays, according to police.
From March 29 to April 1, road accidents claimed at least 45 lives, while the remaining fatalities resulted from various crimes including stabbing, electrocution, shooting, drowning, suicide, sudden death, and mob action, among others, according to the police report released on Tuesday.
Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson, revealed that the police received reports of 62 major incidents during this period, a significant increase from the 44 incidents reported during the same period in 2023.
Enanga informed journalists in Kampala that mob murders topped the list of crimes with 10 cases registered. This was closely followed by aggravated robbery with 9 cases, and 4 cases of murder resulting from severe domestic violence.
He further noted that despite the loss of 46 lives during the Easter festivities, the police managed to arrest 52 suspects, including those causing terror in Kito, Mabanda Cell, Matugga Ward, Gombe Division, and Nansana Municipality in Wakiso District.
Michael Kananura, the spokesperson for the Police Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety, reported that approximately 125 people suffered injuries due to road accidents from March 28 to April 1. He highlighted that most of these accidents occurred in the Kampala Metropolitan Area, followed by the Albertine and Wamala regions.
Kananura emphasized the Directorate’s ongoing efforts to conduct road safety sensitizations and campaigns to encourage behavioral change across the country.
He also disclosed that a nationwide crackdown led to the apprehension of 786 suspected offenders who were either riding or driving without licenses. Among these, 89 were caught without driving licenses, 435 had expired licenses, 257 were driving vehicles not corresponding to their license class, and five were found with forged driving licenses.
Kananura added that all 89 individuals caught driving without licenses were arrested and prosecuted. Additionally, 329 drivers who exceeded the prescribed speed limits were issued tickets under the Express Penalty Scheme (EPS).
The traffic police also reported that 1,019 riders were arrested for not wearing crash helmets and were issued EPS tickets. These riders were required to present crash helmets before their motorcycles were returned.
Kananura assured that such operations would continue to be intensified even beyond the Easter season.