Residents of Techo Cell in Bar Dege-Layibi Division in Gulu City have formed a security committee comprising 7 people including a woman to collaborate with security forces to fight the increasing criminality involving street kids commonly referred to as Aguu. The decision stems from a security meeting held on Sunday afternoon as residents filled gaps in the LCI and LC II structures.
Patrick Oola Lumumba, the Mayor Bar Dege Layibi division, says that to facilitate the newly formed security committee, community members have agreed to contribute Shillings 1000 per household monthly. He says that the committee will report directly to the city mayor but will be supervised by the Gombolola internal security officer-GISO and the police. According to Lumumba, the plan is to establish security committees in all the wards and cells in the division within six months.
Johnson Otim, a resident of Techo Cell in Bar dege Layibi says apparently security officers including the Police and UPDF are not combing all the dark spots where the wrong elements hide. Now, with the formation of the community security committee, Otim hopes that the wrong elements can be uprooted from their hideouts to allow normalcy to return to their area.
Joyce Aciro, a resident of Lacor trading center in the same division says that the formation of the security committees is timely, saying he hopes they can feel the gap of identifying wrong people and have them arrested. According to Aciro, reporting the wrong elements to security has been tricky, saying the reporter is often targeted by the suspects for beating. Bar Dege Layibi division has 48 cells.
Last month, authorities in Kanyagoga reported that properties worth over Shillings 30 million had been stolen between January and April this year.
