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Army guns used in wave of crime around Kampala
Left to right: Isa Kalulu, alias Dog City; Mathias Nsamba, a builder in Gayaza, Wakiso, and Alex Okello, from Bukedea District are on June 2 paraded before the media in Kampala after their arrest on suspicion of being behind a wave of robberies involving army weapons within and around Kampala. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- One suspect was reportedly assigned duties which gave him access to the armoury at Kikubamutwe Barracks from where he illegally withdrew weapons for hire.
Police in Kampala yesterday said weapons belonging to the army have been, and are being used to commit crimes around Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono, which has left many people dead in recent weeks.
In one of the more recent armed robberies on June 30, a soldier attached to Kikubamutwe Army Barracks on Kayunga Road in Mukono District, broke into a mobile money outlet and retail shop in Luzira, Nakawa Division of Kampala and robbed Shs72 million.
Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson, SP Patrick Onyango, told this publication that scene-of-crime-officers recovered an AK47 assault rifle belonging to the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) after the Luzira incident.
Police sources, who asked not to be named, said following interrogations of one of the suspects, “we have since established that he was the source of guns that were used in the recent robberies in Mukono District”.
The suspect (names withheld) was reportedly assigned duties which gave him access to the armoury at Kikubamutwe Barracks from where he illegally withdrew weapons for hire.
On the fateful June 30, Mr Aggrey Bahati and Ms Annah Nyamukulu were closing down for the day in Luzira when two armed individuals broke in and fired shots into the air, causing panic. While Mr Bahati escaped unhurt, a bystander, Ms Betty Nakigudde, was wounded in the ensuing chaos.
One Richard Ssenyondo was shot and later died of his injuries.
“The thugs discharged their firearms, resulting in the death of Richard Ssenyondo and the injury of Betty Nakigudde. Police managed to arrest two suspects, including the UPDF officer and a lawyer,” SP Onyango said, revealing that the suspects are now in military custody.
Deputy army spokesperson, Col Deo Akiiki, however, refuted fears that military intelligence has taken over investigations.
“That is a civil offence, not a service offence. The police remains in charge. If any of us commits a civil offence, then normal procedures at police take place, although the army gets interested to see the possibility of charging such officers in the court martial,” he said.
A detective close to ongoing investigations into the Luzira shooting told this publication yesterday that police is following leads that the soldier came to the scene with two guns.
The detective said upon being interrogated, the suspect said one weapon had been signed in by a fellow soldier, who is currently on leave.
The suspect, he said, was able to illegally gain access to the weapon given his posting at his unit’s armoury.
The detective said the soldier also confessed to have been hiring out UPDF guns to robbers within Mukono, Wakiso and Kampala districts.
Crime trends
A total of 1,956 cases of aggravated robbery with lethal weapons such as fire arms, knives, hammers and machetes used were reported in 2021 compared to 1,844 cases reported in 2020. Of this total, at least 254 cases involved fire arms.
The Police Annual Crime report of 2020/2021 shows that 436 cases of robbery of cash were registered compared to 364 in 2020. In the following year, police registered 2,516 cases of aggravated robbery where lethal weapons like firearms, knives, hammer and machetes were used.
Reported cases of aggravated robbery of cash numbered 443 in 2022 compared to 436 cases the previous year.
