Uganda to get security cameras after police death

Andrew Felix Kaweesi was travelling with two bodyguards

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has ordered the installation of surveillance cameras in major towns to reassure the nation about public safety.

The measure was introduced after the killing of the country's third highest ranking police officer.

Assistant Inspector General Andrew Felix Kaweesi was killed when his car was attacked by gunmen on motorbikes.

The president posted a tweet strongly condemning the murder.

The president also took to Twitter to announce the immediate installation of security cameras in major towns and along major highways.

No further details have been made public.

In another post he reassured the country that public security would be guarded at all costs.

Two bodyguards who were accompanying Insp Gen Kaweesi were also killed.

The motive for the shooting and identities of the attackers, who escaped from the scene, were not known.

But Insp Gen Kaweesi was a former head of police operations in the capital Kampala and had gained a prominent public profile for overseeing the frequent arrests of Uganda's main opposition leader, Kizza Besigye.

He had left his home in a northern neighbourhood of the city and was on his way to work when the attack happened.

The Reuters news agency reported that local television showed a crowd gathered at the scene of the shooting and a parked Toyota Landcruiser with both doors on the driver's side open. Blood was spattered on the ground.

President Museveni responded immediately to the murder of the police officer

Government critics have long accused the police of cracking down on opponents of Mr Museveni instead of fighting crime.

Last month the Daily Monitor newspaper reported that only 15 out of 1,068 murders recorded in 2015 had led to prosecutions.

The murder of a high-profile police official will further heighten fears over public safety.