The district security committee in Lwengo has threatened to ban daily night music concerts and discos, citing a rise in crime and laziness among locals.
According to the Masaka Resident District Commissioner, Topista Lule Senkungu, night discos, which run from Tuesday to Saturday, attract thugs who take advantage of the loud music to commit robberies and assaults unnoticed.
Senkungu made these remarks on July 26, 2024, during a village meeting at Lukode Primary School in Buyinja parish.
She said that the concert and disco promoters tend to exploit locals after noticing that most of them have just sold off their coffee and have extra money to spend.
’’These night concerts and discos happen daily from Tuesday to Saturday instead of weekends, and the locals have stopped working. They tend to waste money on drinking, gambling, and prostitution instead of investing productively,’’ Senkungu noted.
Senkungu vowed to arrest all those playing illegal gambling activities, including pool table, play cards, mweso, and betting, during working hours, saying that they are the gangs committing heinous crimes at night.
’’Since I head the district security committee, my colleagues and I are going to sit down and put a stop to these daily night discos and concerts because they are always set up on weekdays, which are working days, and now people have become lazy and do not want to work but just want to rob others,’’ she said.
Twaha Kasirye, the Greater Masaka Police Spokesperson, asked the night music concert and disco promoters to get permission first from the Masaka District Police Chief so as to avoid arrests.
Kasirye also advised the promoters to arrange the night time music concerts and discos once a month on the weekends instead of working days so that people can work during the day instead of idling around and committing crime.
‘’Once you arrange for a nightclub in Masaka, Lwengo, and surrounding areas without permission from the District Police Chief, you will be arrested and face the consequences,’’ Kasirye disclosed.
The ban on daily night music concerts and discos aims to curb the rising insecurity and promote a safer environment for the residents of Lwengo district. Police will work closely with the district security committee to enforce the new directives and maintain law and order in the region.
