200805131291 | Thieves steal Computers from UBOS offices

Thieves steal Computers from UBOS offices

SUSPECTED thugs stole 45 computers from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) offices in Kampala on Monday. The thugs, who the Police suspect had either master-keys or genuine keys, also stole several computer memory chips, according to sources.

The mind-boggling raid mainly affected the fifth and sixth floors of the Statistics House located on Colville Street.

Floor five is occupied by the directorate of population and social statistics, while six is for district statistics and capacity building personnel.

“People walked into their offices this morning and tried to turn on the computers but the screens were blank,” a source told The New Vision on condition of anonymity.

“After checking thoroughly, they realised that most central processing units on the two floors had been stolen.”

The theft paralysed business at the UBOS headquarters inaugurated recently by President Yoweri Museveni.

A senior official confirmed the incident but declined to give details, saying the Police were investigating the matter.

Central Police Station CID chief Fred Milondo led a team of five detectives to the offices.

“We are trying to ascertain how they got access to the offices,” Milondo said.

The private security guards and staff have to make statements, he added.

Workers attached to particular offices have keys that allow them access their work stations. But the keys to the doors leading to the different floors are kept at the main gate. There are over 190 staff in the building. No one had been arrested by press time.

The incident occurred two weeks after the reinstatement of chief security officer, Martin Iduli, who was cleared by the Police over a 2007 break-in.