The recent crackdown on an online scamming network in Akright, Bwebajja, Entebbe, is a damning indictment of the rot festering within Uganda’s socio-economic fabric. Over 30 arrests and the recovery of fraudulent tools reveal not just a hub of criminality but the government’s monumental failure to protect its citizens from the clutches of predatory greed. While the Flying Squad and Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) may flaunt this operation as a success, it merely scratches the surface of a much larger web of corruption and systemic incompetence.
Online scams have surged under the watch of a government preoccupied with entrenching its grip on power instead of addressing the growing desperation of its populace. How can Ugandans thrive when opportunities are hoarded by the ruling class while crumbs trickle down to the rest? It is no wonder that criminal networks find fertile ground among disillusioned youth who see no hope in an economy choked by nepotism and theft.
The so-called “well-organized hub” in Entebbe did not sprout overnight. Months of surveillance by security forces point to an operation that thrived for years, unbothered by the very institutions tasked with dismantling it. How many of these criminals were protected by influential backers, who conveniently disappear from investigations? The confiscated high-end gadgets and multiple SIM cards scream of a sophisticated network, likely tied to global syndicates, yet the blame will undoubtedly be heaped on these low-level operatives. The real architects of such schemes remain untouchable, shielded by their connections to the corridors of power.
It is laughable that security agencies now preach vigilance to the public. Where was this vigilance when victims were being duped, one after another? Such belated warnings are as hollow as the government’s promises of “swift justice.” Justice in Uganda is a privilege, not a right, and the wheels of accountability rarely turn for the powerful.
This so-called “victory” reeks of performative theatre—a desperate bid to distract Ugandans from the harsh reality of their economic oppression. While we celebrate the arrests in Akright, let us not lose sight of the bigger scam: a regime that has defrauded its people for decades under the guise of governance. Until the roots of corruption are eradicated, the Akright raid is nothing but a drop in a sea of unchecked criminality.
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