Prime
Diplomat speaks out on boda boda criminal gang
A videograb of a criminal gang attacking Mr Dawit Kasa, a diplomat at the Ethiopian Embassy, in Kampala on February 25. Photo / File
What you need to know:
- In a 40 second video clip, Mr Kasa is seen walking with a backpack bag before a group of men pounced on him and robbed him.
Mr Dawit Kasa, a diplomat at the Ethiopian Embassy in Kampala, is yet to recover from the beating he received from a criminal gang riding motorcycles in broad daylight.
In an interview yesterday, Mr Kasa said he was walking back home after work when men riding motorcycles pounced on him in Kololo, an upscale city suburb, on the evening of February 25.
The incident captured by the Turkish Embassy camera on Prince Charles Drive occurred at about 6:15pm.
In the 40 second video clip that has since gone viral, Mr Kasa was walking with a backpack bag before a group of men pounced on him.
Two of the men numbering about five jumped off the motorcycle and beat up Mr Kasa before other accomplices joined in the act.
“They [grabbed] me and started beating me [up],” Mr Kasa narrates, adding: “I bled a lot.”
Mr Kasa attempted to fight back but he was overpowered and subdued to the ground before he rose on his feet and ran away.
The incident happened in the middle of a quite busy road as other motorists looked on.
The attackers then took a bag and other items from Mr Kasa before jumping on motorcycles waiting for them neaby.
After the confrontation, Mr Kasa said he rushed to get immediate medical attention .
“If I had not gone to the hospital, I would have died [because of the profuse bleeding],” he added.
He revealed that the bag contained a laptop. The thugs also took his two mobile phones.
Police speaks out
Mr Luke Owoyesigyire, the deputy spokesperson of Kampala Metropolitan area, in a statement said the Directorate of Crime Intelligence and Flying Squad Unit had conducted an intelligence-led operation in areas of Kisenyi near Link Bus terminal, which focused on thugs who knock down their victims before robbing them off money and electronic devices.
“Last week, two incidents were registered at Buganda Road and another on Prince Charles Drive where Dawit Kasa, a diplomat with the Ethiopian Embassy, was robbed of and assaulted on February 25,” Mr Owoyesigyire stated, adding: “Items such as phones worth Shs2.8 million and a laptop were robbed from him.”
Four persons, according to Mr Owoyesigyire, believed to have participated in the separate incidents had been arrested.
DON'T MISS: New criminal gangs in Kampala target women
Following many robberies that are consistently captured on video surveillance cameras, police last year started a crackdown on criminal gangs including those trailing and waylaying people carrying money or other kinds of valuables.
