Four policemen arrested over receiving Shs5m bribe to free defilement suspect
A general view of Lolwe Police Station in Lolwe Islands, Namayingo District, from where Pastor Jimmy Masette is said to have escaped on September 29, 2024 after allegedly paying a Shs5 million bribe. PHOTO/DAVID AWORI
What you need to know:
- A security source at Gorofa Landing Site where the police station is located said Pastor Masette was aided by the police officers to escape after he reportedly paid Shs5 million to the officers.
- From Sagiti Islands, Pastor Masette is said to have boarded another boat to Maruba Landing Site on Lake Victoria and later used a motorcycle to connect to Bugiri town
Four police officers attached to Lolwe Police Station in Bukhooli Islands, Namayingo District are being investigated after a pastor who was being held on allegations of aggravated defilement escaped from custody on September 29.
Pastor Jimmy Masette, 42, of Vision Way of Truth Church at Kandege Landing Site in Lolwe Island had on Saturday, September 28 been taken into custody at Kandege Police Post for allegedly defiling and impregnating a 13-year-old pupil of Kandege Church of God Primary School.
However, the suspect is said to have escaped from police cells under unclear circumstances, according to the Namayingo deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr Suleiman Walugembe.
“A pastor, who had been arrested over accusations of defiling and impregnating a 13-year-old girl, is said to have escaped from police cells,” Mr Walugembe said on September 30 adding that at the time of his escape on Sunday night, the pastor was being held with three other suspects still in police custody.
Following the escape, Mr Walugembe ordered for the immediate arrest of four police officers at Lolwe Police Station for aiding the pastor’s escape.
They include the officer in-charge (OC), Assistant Superintendent of Police Robert Okello, Sgt Edward Luboya who was on duty, a Police Constable only identified as Muhindo and his colleague whose details were not readily availed to this reporter.
A security source at Gorofa Landing Site where the police station is located said Pastor Masette was aided by the police officers to escape after he reportedly paid Shs5 million to the officers. “We are told the escapee paid the police Shs5 million to let him off the hook,” the source said.
He added that after the officers allegedly received the money, they freed the suspected defiler and escorted him under the cover of darkness to an engine-powered boat which transported him to Sagiti Islands.
From Sagiti Islands, Pastor Masette is said to have boarded another boat to Maruba Landing Site on Lake Victoria in Buhemba Sub-county in Namayingo District and later used a motorcycle to connect to Bugiri town.
According to the source, following the escape, police had reportedly tried to cut one of the iron sheets in the cell to create an opening to suggest that the suspect had done so and used the opening to escape.
“The cut iron sheet has a very small opening where a human head cannot go through; so, we are wondering how the pastor went through such a small outlet,” the source added.
Monitor has established that while in police custody, Pastor Masette on the evening of September 22 reportedly instructed relatives to sale his plot of land at Kandege Landing Site to one Jamil Lubega at Shs3 million.
It is further alleged that he topped it up with Shs2 million, which he is said to have used to regain his freedom.
The quartet has, however, denied any foul play, insisting that “the suspect had taken advantage of the night to cut the roof of the police cells to escape.”
The Namayingo District Police Commander, Mr Ronald Kitanda, declined to comment on the matter, saying: “As DPC, I am not allowed to speak to journalists; we have regional public relations officers who are supposed to speak to you on behalf of Police.”
