By KT Reporter
Police in Nakasongola District are hunting for unidentified vandals who cut and stole more than 50 meters of electricity wires, plunging parts of Mulonzi Village in Nabiswera Sub-County into darkness.
The incident occurred on Saturday around 6:00 p.m. after residents reported the theft to the Local Council I chairperson, who immediately alerted police.
Savannah Region Police spokesperson, Sam Twiineamazima, said officers inspected the scene and recovered a pair of pliers believed to have been used in the crime. The tool was handed over to the Officer in Charge of Nabiswera Sub-County Police for further investigation.
Preliminary findings indicate that vandals damaged six electricity poles between Mulonzi Primary School and Mulonzi Trading Centre while cutting the wires. Police suspect the culprits used motorcycles to transport the stolen wires, blending in with the frequent motorcycle movements in the area, largely linked to spear fishing activities.
Twiineamazima said police have intensified efforts to track down the suspects and are working with the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) to restore and secure the damaged infrastructure.
Vandalism of power infrastructure has become a persistent problem in the Savannah Region, which covers Luwero, Nakaseke, and Nakasongola districts.
In June 2025, Uganda Radio Network (URN) reported that residents of Kalongomiti Zone in Luwero Town Council were facing prolonged power outages after unknown individuals vandalized several electricity lines. The incident compounded supply challenges in Luwero, which began when UEDCL assumed responsibility for power distribution from Umeme on April 1, 2025, following the expiry of Umeme’s 20-year concession.
UEDCL has consistently cited vandalism as a major cause of blackouts, stressing that such acts not only disrupt power supply but also impose heavy financial costs on the utility. In Kalongomiti, the crisis deepened after wires were stolen just days after residents had endured two weeks without power due to a faulty transformer.
During his visit to Luwero on May 21, 2025, as part of his Parish Development Model (PDM) tour, President Yoweri Museveni addressed the vandalism crisis. He directed the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, to establish an inter-agency security committee to combat the vice. In a hard-hitting statement, Museveni proposed a “shoot-to-kill” policy for suspected vandals attempting to flee, arguing that those who sabotage electricity supply deserve death for the suffering they cause.
He branded them “enemies of progress,” equating vandalism of power lines to acts of sabotage against Uganda’s development. The President also called for stronger security deployment and the installation of CCTV cameras in vandalism-prone areas as part of a broader strategy to end the menace.
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