By George Aine
The first batch of CCTV cameras that were pledged by President Museveni last year have already been purchased and are in the country.
Following the increasing spate of killings last year, among them the assassination of former police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi, the President pledged to buy the cameras and install them in all urban areas across the country for easy tracking of thieves.
And now it has emerged that 900 of the 5,552 cameras already last month and are being installed in different parts of the city.
When contacted on Friday, the Executive director of the Uganda Media Centre, Mr Ofwono Opondo, confirmed that the cameras, whose purchase was approved by Parliament through a Shs60b supplementary budget, have been bought.
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He, however, could not give details and instead referred us to the police authorities. Police spokesperson Emilian Kayima confirmed the purchase, saying the laying of the fibre cables is already underway in different parts of Kampala before the cameras are installed.
He added that the cameras will be installed in different phases over two years. Kayima said the cameras were bought from Huawei, a Chinese company.
The police publicist also explained that surveillance, traffic monitoring and crime investigations will now be easy with the aid of cameras.
The camera project was mooted by the President following the murder of Kaweesi but his directive was implemented following the murder of former Arua Municipality MP Ibrahim Abiriga.
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