KAMPALA – Police have said several construction projects in Kampala Metropolitan Area have disrupted the functionality of CCTV cameras.
Police spokesman Fred Enanga said many fibre optic underground cables have been disconnected during road construction and laying of water pipes, rendering CCTV cameras non-functional.
Mr Enanga was referring to the fatal accident involving Ritah Nabukenya, a People Power supporter, that was not captured on CCTV cameras along the Nakawa – Naguru road on 24th, February, 2020.
“The cameras around the whole section were not working due to disruptions in the fibre optic underground cables, following construction works along the Ntinda – Nakawa-Naguru stretch. Other failures are usually due to constant power outages in certain policing divisions, as well as the erection of banners/billboards within the corridors of CCTV camera view which grossly impacts on our investigations,” he said on Monday.
Mr Enanga said the IGP has tasked the Directorate of ICT to regularly check CCTV system and ensure every single camera deployed is working. And if not, should be fixed immediately.
He said the police is working closely with city planners responsible for city works, to adopt new technologies for construction that minimize the disruption of typical underground utility construction. New technologies make projects easier and prevent the need to endlessly repeat work for upgrades.
Mr Enanga said the CCTV Network in KMP is not only an important tool in solving crimes but also plays a big role in preventing them.
“We therefore want to get the message out to the public, that where there are no fiber optic disruptions, the CCTV cameras are working at full capacity and are streaming clear images to the monitoring and National Command Centre,” he said
“We would like to add that the traffic investigations unit has taken over investigations into the fatal accident of Ritah Nabukenya, while the shooting incident at Nansana is being investigated by the Regional CID officers at KMP North. Both cases are progressing well,” he said
