Over the weekend, party animals allover Kampala were converged at Forest Mall in Lugogo.
This is because there is a hangout spot (bar) that operates there and it is said to be among the elite list of bars that are still operating normally regardless of lockdown restrictions on bars in Uganda.
The hangout whose name is Drew & Jacs Bar, Restaurant and Patisserie can make one think that it's simply a harmless family eatery but when the sun goes down, it turns into a fully fledged night club/ bar.
This was evident last weekend when video clips showing party people having a nice time started circulating on social media.
The spokesperson of the health ministry, Emmanuel Ainebyoona who also landed on the clips criticised the hangout spot for breaking covid restrictions set by his ministry and immediately called onto the police to swing into action.
This hangout at Forest Mall will be among the things that will drive us to the COVID-19 3rd wave. @PoliceUg please implement the statutory instrument by the Minister of health, Jane Ruth Aceng... said a furious Ainebyoona
WATCH VIDEO: Revellers dancing their souls out at Drew & Jacs
Police Swings into Action
The Uganda Police swang into action on Sunday evening after a tip-off and arrested several people in the operation.
They arrested about 6 people who were detained at Jinja Police station that night according to a statement from Luke Owoyesigyire, the Kampala Metropolitan police deputy spokesperson.
Luke however failed to reveal if the owners of the mall were part of the detainees and said the 6 would all be arraigned in court on Tuesday, 2 days ago
How long has Drew & Jacs been like this
The hangout spot has been doing this sort of thing for the past 2 years according to our sources despite all the tight curfew guidelines in place and it is reported that it has a very high level of security detail to ensure that no one shuts it down for violating SOPs.
This is completely different from what other bars and hangout spots have been doing in the past 2 years where by many played hide and seek with authorities especially when they operated beyond the former curfew time of 9pm.
Others have even closed shop after counting losses for too long without any hope from president Museveni to lift their lockdown. A case in point is Casablanca in Kololo which has been rumoured to be closing for good and this was revealed by its resident DJ, Dj Bobby who also doubles as their Marketing manager.
Drew & Jacs is not alone in this
There is widespread violation of the standard operating procedures on the "Forest Mall" building where Drew & Jacs is located.
Our sources indicate that Kampala's wealthy elite group normally hangs around the Mall during leisure time and also during small business meetings.
The mall has always been talked about as the untouchable place in Uganda since most of the businesses have been operating normally despite of recent covid-19 restrictions.
At one time in July, the Resident City Commissioner (RCC) of Nakawa Division, Herbert Anderson Burora directed for closure of the shopping mall after feeling uncomfortable with the way it was going about by its usual business even after the president had declared a fresh 42-day lockdown in June.
Anderson said that the banking halls, pharmacies, restaurants and other businesses inside the mall were all violating the SOPs according to a letter written to the mall's management.
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In response to his allegations and closure directives, the malls communication manager, Mark du Toit wrote an appeal letter in protest to the RCC's letter and showed Anderson how the mall had always been observing the SOPs he claims they were violating.
This is where Mark talked about how all cars at Forest Mall's parking yard were those belonging to essential workers allowed to travel during the 42 days meaning each car had proper documentation to be legally situated at the parking lot.
