Police Officers extort money using COVID-19 SOPs
Police officers in the Uganda Police Force (UPF) are busy extorting money using COVID-19 SOPs, The Drone Media has established.
In an investigation done by this website stretching from March, 2020 immediately after the lockdown was decreed by His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni up to November 14th, 2020 when casinos saunas & gyms were relaxed; officers of Uganda Police have been getting money from proprietors of such premises.
It is unfortunate that the force that is mandated to keep law and order violates and abuses everything. The Drone Media established that police officers often harassed the proprietors of Saunas and gyms, who did not open their premises.
At Boom Motel, which is located between Wakaliga and Nalukolongo, officers often went to the premises, asking the proprietor to give them money so that they can allow him to work despite lockdown. The proprietor reportedly told them off that he would wait until the lockdown is relaxed. This answer, according to a source at Boom Motel, did not please the officers; they often raided the premises; claiming that their informers told them Boom Motel’s sauna was on. Fortunately, their wish was never answered and Boom Motel never opened until November 14th, 2020.
The Drone Media also established that the saunas, gyms and bars, which paid the police officers, remained working until the lockdown was officially relaxed on 14th November, 2020. These included the infamous New Best Hotel at Busega, where strip tease is the main menu in the sauna while outside the sauna it is a brothel business. This brothel and sauna business at New Best Hotel never stopped in regard to COVID-19 SOPs.
Other Saunas & gyms that remained open in COVID-19 lockdown include Sibyangu Hotel in Natete: Sampro Hotel in Kitunzi; Okla Club in Old Kampala, Ivory Towers in Nansana; Saunas in Acacia; Kireka, Kabalagala etc.
The saunas and bars that attempted to open without giving money to police officers were accused of neglecting SOPs and therefore the operators were arrested, ending up giving more money than they would have given before. The case in point was in Kireka and Muyenga, where partiers were arrested in disguise.