10 Entertainment Spots Closed In Lyantonde

At least ten entertainment places screening the 2014 World Cup matches in Lyantode district have been closed down for failing to adhere to security guidelines.

DPC Thomas Eyaku orders customers out of Kanya pub during the operation.

The places shut down were bars, video halls and betting places that do not have security measures like gadgets to check for bombs.

Instructions to install such security measures were issued by the police just before the 2014 edition of the FIFA World Cup commenced in June.

Uganda suffered twin bomb attacks July 11, 2010 during the screening of the World Cup finals. The attack was blamed on Al Shabaab terrorists.

District authorities in collaboration with police have been closing down several places since Monday.

So far Jona hall, Lighting video club, Kikole hall, Advena video club, Kasubi pub, Akanya pub, Bivamuntuyo bar, Two-in-one video hall have been closed. They are all located in Lyantonde town council.

Sulaiman Rutuguragara Matojo, the Lyantonde Resident District Commissioner said that owners of the closed places had failed to adhere to the security rules and regulations before screening the world cup matches.

Matojo, also the head of the District Security Committee, says that the guidelines included having metal detectors, security guards, having entry and exit doors.

He adds that although the closed places contribute a lot to the district’s economy, they cannot risk the lives of residents.

Al-Shabaab is a Sunni Islamist Somali militia group believed to have strong ties to Al-Qaeda. The group claimed credit for the two bombings during a screening of 2010 FIFA World Cup Final match in Kampala in 2010.

This was retaliation for Ugandan support for the regional peace keeping mission of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)

Thomas Keith Eyaku, the Lyantonde District Police Commander, who led the operation, says it followed constant threats from Al-Shabaab terrorists to hit Uganda again during the World Cup.

He adds that they will not take any chances that may result into similar incidents in Lyantonde.

Matojo says he has asked all public places to keep records of their guests and visitors.

Eyaku also added that police has consistently asked proprietors of public places including video halls, bars, pubs, clubs, arcades, churches, mosques, shopping malls, hotels, fuel stations and taxi parks to step up security of their premises but very few complied.

He adds that they are also monitoring the Somali fuel-truck drivers who regularly park in Lyantonde town.

Furthermore, parking of fuel trucks near petrol stations has also been limited. There is also more deployment of security personnel at all fuel stations.

Matojo and Eyaku say they will make use of the available security agencies to close down any public places with total laxity as far as ensuring security in their premises is concerned.

But at time of going to press Lyantonde Market, some guest houses and lodges still lacked any visible security guards or presence.

A few places such as hotels, night clubs, mosques and churches have however adhered to the security guidelines.

In some of the churches at least 3 or 4 people are being assisted by a trained security operative to do the checking while others are being trained how to use the metal detectors.

But some business persons claim that they did not receive notification from police to improve their security.

Patrick Kizito, the owner of Jona hall, says police did not inform him of the security guidelines.

Others like Kamukama, a worker at Tel Cam videoz in Lyantonde town, says they complied and bought a metal scanner before they were asked by police.

Similar operations are going on in Masaka and Rakai districts but very few managers have complied with the security rules and regulations.

In Rakai, people are seen entering video halls, bars and guest houses without being checked. Also at several police stations nothing is seen as a metal detector to search people entering their premises.