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Mbale, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The installation of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras that started in Mbale town has brought joy among the residents.
Installation of the cameras by government and implemented by Safe City Solutions Company started on Wednesday. Residents are happy about the development saying it will greatly improve security in the area.
According to police, 32 sites in Mbale are going to have CCTV cameras. Already, over 20 cameras have been installed in the areas of Nkoma, Namakwekwe, Bugema, Malukhu around the town, Nilon, Mooni, Nakaloke, Namatala, Nauyo among other places.
Mutwalib Zandya, the Mbale Municipality Mayor said they have identified crime prone areas where the CCTV cameras are being installed to reduce on the crime rate in the urban centre.
According to residents, these cameras will help reduce crime rate in Mbale and improve on the security. Hakim Khasakya who operates a welding shop at Nkoma stage said the cameras will help reduce on the burglaries that have been taking place in the area. He is however worried that police may request for money to retrieve the information in case the members of the public need it.
Another resident Nasser Mudemi applauded government’s efforts to curb crime in the country. But he asked the authorities to sensitize the locals on how these cameras work.
Yunusu Mbago, the chairman of Nkoma boda boda stage welcomed the development with pleasure saying it will help reduce on the number of thugs who attempt to steal their motorcycles.
Ali Dago, a lecturer at Islamic University in Uganda has however downplayed the role of cameras in fighting crime saying they can only aid in the fight against criminality. Dago said it takes the willingness of both security persons and residents to work together to curb criminality in Mbale as cameras do not guarantee total security.
Like Dago, Geofrey Wambulu from Namakwekwe ward thinks the cameras are a waste of tax payers money since even those arrested through the aid of the cameras are not prosecuted.
Musa Kassajja, a councilor in Industrial Division said the cameras have come at a right time when Mbale is acquiring city status and these are some of the necessities the city needs. He said that the people of Mbale are blessed getting cameras even before becoming a city.
Mbale Resident District Commissioner Ogajjo Baraza says that the cameras will eliminate thuggery and highway robberies but also help them in tightening the security around Mbale.
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