Police and the army on Monday evening cordoned off the newly opened Chinatown hyper market in Lugogo, citing a terror threat.
Ever since it opened on Saturday, the hypermarket has become a mecca of sorts, with hundreds of shoppers patiently queuing to shop at heavily subsidised prices.
However, during Monday’s evening rush hour, dozens of police and military officers swarmed the place and urged everyone to vacate the premises.
“Please leave now; we have a terror threat,” the officers bellowed on a megaphone. The announcement had shoppers scampering for safety in different directions. Signs were put on the premises to indicate that it is closed.
The hypermarket is located just a stones’ throw from the Kyadondo Rugby Grounds, where 78 people were killed in a twin-terror bombing on July 11, 2010.
Last week, recently, the American Embassy announced an “increased risk of terrorist attacks in Kampala.”
The embassy encouraged its citizens to exercise increased caution in public areas, including malls, schools and areas frequented by tourists.
Likewise, the United Nations mission said they had gathered information indicating potential terrorist attacks in Kampala.
“As we approach the September 11 attacks anniversary, the likelihood of terrorist organisations, extremist groups, associates, and sympathisers launching attacks to coincide with this anniversary cannot be overemphasised. By their nature, terrorist attacks are unpredictable, which highlights the risk that the UN could be affected or may suffer collateral damage,” reads the UN mission security alert.
In in the weekly Police press briefing on Monday, Police Force spokesperson Rusoke Kituuma acknowledged a credible terror threat and encouraged leaders in all public spaces to develop additional strategies to bolster security and ensure a high level of vigilance is maintained.
“There is a terror threat, and there has always been terror threats. The fact that Uganda is an active participant and it is on the frontlines in the fight against terror means we certainly are targets of terror threats,” he noted.
He emphasised the need for all shopping centres and public venues to implement access control measures to ensure that individuals are screened.
