At least three business people at Hoima Central market in Hoima City have been arrested after they were found to be illegally connecting to the electric grid.
A joint operation by Umeme and the division authorities led to the arrest of the suspect after information was received that some people were stealing power from the market.
The suspects were identified as Ivan Tumesigye, Agrey Businge Clinton and Barbra Aheebwa.
According to Hoima City East division town clerk Milton Asiimwe, they decided to conduct an operation after realizing a problem with high electricity bills which the division was unable to pay.
“We have been facing a challenge of increasing electricity bills, we would pay but after a few days Umeme would cut it off. We got suspicious and planted people in the market that provided us with information indicating that some people were using power illegally,” he said.
During the operation, Asiimwe said they discovered several people had illegally connected electricity to their business premises and they were able to arrest three while others escaped.
However, they impounded several electricity meters and handed the suspects over to the police where they were being detained.
Vendors who dealt with food crops, electronics, clothing and running saloons among others shut down the market last week in protest at Hoima City authority’s failure to pay electricity bills.