The fatal mugging of David Owori, the erstwhile captain of Uganda’s most successful football club-SC Villa, has awakened national conscience on growing urban crime no less in the capital. As paver joins fellow nouns like drone and basement to increase the size of the lexicon of what residents of Uganda dread the most, the country is left with a lot to ponder over.
The reactive approach of the Uganda Police Force (UPF) that has culminated in sting operations and arrests-even asset recovery-to go along with is, make no mistake, commendable. But it does not address the underlying issues that have birthed a problem that has many people looking over their shoulders. As such, the importance of getting to the bottom of the push and pull factors in criminal activities must not be understated.
Unfortunately, it has been anything but. Government functionaries have made heavy weather of trying to be alive to the aforementioned push and pull factors. This, we strongly reckon, ought to stop forthwith. Success in combating such growing urban crime has to be predicated on addressing its root causes; not papering over cracks as is evidently the case.
With this in mind, it would be foolhardy to treat lightly-as appears to be the case-the spike in urban crime and the outright ban on street vending in the capital. The correlation shows more than anything that poverty and unemployment constitute the push factors that have birthed the muggings in and around the capital. The attendant financial reward-easily identifiable in the promise of fast cash-can then be located as one of the pull factors.
The revelation of suspects believed to have been complicit in the murder of Owori was this week welcomed with a degree of surprise. Less about the act itself as the age of the alleged perpetrators. They were all youthful. While localised data puts formal youth unemployment at anywhere between 4.2 percent and 16.1 percent, young Ugandans classified as NEET or Not in Education, Employment, or Training occupy much bigger percentages (up to 41 percent to 42.6 percent).
Put simply, the country has a problem of youth joblessness that cannot be wished away. The problem has to be addressed and confronted with the seriousness that we believe it merits.
It is quite evident that several flagship programmes like the Presidential Zonal Industrial Skilling Hubs, the Youth Livelihood Programme, and regional ICT Innovation Hubs have not been as impactful as the Government of Uganda (GoU) hoped they would be.
All of this points to the fact that there is work to be done. Consequently, the GoU has to think deeply about how best to tackle the youth unemployment problem. For one, we reckon, it would concretely align formal education in the country with market demands.
This keeps being mentioned but it is evident that this is a classic case of triumph of style over substance. As mentioned before, government functionaries cannot keep papering over cracks. A course correction will doubtless be the best tribute paid to Owori.