Thugs killed five people and injured several others in central Uganda.
President Yoweri Museveni has blamed the attacks on four villages in two districts in central Uganda on poor policing and lack of surveillance.
In the New Year’s Day raid in Bukomansimbi and Lwengo districts, five people were killed among them, a retired police officer who was hacked several times on the head inside his house. Angry locals also lynched an unidentified man suspected to be one of the attackers.
Several people were injured and treated at the regional referral hospital in Masaka. One victim, a girl, was evacuated to the national referral Mulago Hospital where she is in the intensive care unit.
President Museveni visited the affected families to condole with them on Wednesday.
He told residents that some of those who were attacked had sought for help but could not get it since majority of the people were busy in bars drinking.
The President also criticised the police saying the force has failed to solve the killings and seem detached from the locals. He order the Masaka region police commander, Latif Zaake, to set up toll free call centres in the area.
Mr Museveni further blamed the judiciary for releasing some of the suspects who had previously been arrested for killings in the region.
The head of State told the locals that his administration would install surveillance cameras in the wake of escalation of insecurity in the region. He said one of the victims, who survived the attack, was able to call for help when she saw thugs scaling the wall of their home because the family had installed CCTV cameras.
But Bukomansimbi woman MP, Veronicah Nanyondo, wondered how Mr Museveni would fulfil the surveillance cameras pledge given that the rural area was yet to adequately access electricity.
The Inspector General of Police, Kale Kayihura, who has since camped in the region, said they were pursuing strong leads in the investigations.