Police back on road to hunt for tinted cars

The government has renewed the crackdown on tinted cars in Juba and its environs to prevent crimes during the Christmas festive.

Speaking to The City Review on Tuesday, the Police Spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Daniel Justin, said organised forces have been deployed on all the streets in the city to implement the order.

“Cars with tinted glasses are not allowed on the streets [and] our forces are ready on the ground. We want the citizen to cooperate with and report any the tinted cars being used to commit crimes,” Maj. Gen. Justin said.

He said any numberless vehicle and those with only one number plate shall also be seized and the owner will have to produce a valid document before it is released.

Government has several times ordered such a ban, especially during the festive season but the order has always been disowned by some “powerful individuals”.

However, Maj. Gen. Justin promised that this would not be the same scenario this time.

Last year, the police faced criticism from activists and some members of parliament over the ban, alleging that members of organised forces were misusing the order to harass the citizens and government officials.

Though they commended the ban as part of security measures, the members of the Civil Society Forum, said the ban was illegal on cars with factory-tinted window glasses. They threatened to sue the Ministry of Interior should it fail to revoke the order in a three-day-period ultimatum.

But the police rebuked the Civil Society Forum’s threats of legal action and maintained a stance on the ban on vehicles with tinted glasses saying it was ready to face the court over the matter.

The directorate of the Customs Police has not issued the public directive on guidelines and specifications of the nature of vehicles that are supposed to enter the country. 

South Sudan, one of the end-users of Japanese vehicles with shaded window glasses in Africa, has the majority of vehicles with tinted glasses on the streets.