In an attempt to reduce the increasing number of armed robberies in the country, the Police yesterday warned second-hand dealers and members of the public to desist from selling and wearing camouflage clothes saying they are strictly for military officers.
According to Police spokesperson Fred Enanga, among the items retrieved in crime hotspot areas of Kyengera, Busega, Nansana, Kawempe, Makindye, and Mukono, were the camouflage clothes used by the gangs to carry out robberies.
In their views, RX Radio presenters Olive Najjuma and James Onen, aka Fatboy, sounded unconvinced that gangs carry out criminal activities in military uniform.
“If you lined up all the criminals in this country including armed robbers and machete guys, I can guarantee that 0.01 percent of them or even less would be wearing camouflage clothes. They wear ordinary clothes such as T-shirts and Jeans to blend in,” Fatboy argued.
Olive reasoned that the directive was passed because an audio went viral on social media last weekend claiming that people who posed as military officers put barricades on roads late in the night and robbed motorists of their belongings.
“I think now Police want to show that the robbers are not part of them. So to stop them, they have to ban the sale of camouflage clothes.”
She continued, “but where are they getting the guns? Because Police reports have over time shown that the guns used by robbers usually belong to the UPDF.”
She found it irrational that the police were banning camouflage clothes yet are very different in design and fabric from the fatigues.
Fatboy called upon human rights lawyers to challenge the policy and whether it is constitutional since the directive keeps recurring whenever armed robberies increase.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, and Sarah every weekday from 6 am to 10 am on RX Radio.