Girl, 17, wakes up in mortuary after mob attack

A 17-year-old girl who was reported dead after she was attacked and beaten by a group of locals on allegations of stealing bananas in Apac Town was found alive in a morgue, hours before her body would be subjected to an autopsy.

The victim, a resident of Matimia Ward in Arocha Division, was reportedly found alive as doctors at Apac Hospital prepared to conduct a post-mortem on her body.

"Information was received that she passed on after being beaten by a mob accusing her of theft. Our officers visited the scene, recorded statements and conveyed her body to the mortuary at the Apac Main hospital,” the North Kyoga regional police spokesperson, Mr Patrick Jimmy Okema, said.

However, as the doctors prepared to conduct a postmortem, they discovered she was still alive. Accordingly, she was taken to the ward on a life support machines and is still being monitored by the medical team.

Meanwhile, Mr Okema said they already have one person in their custody on allegations of participating in the mob attack against her.

"We appeal to members of the public to desist from the act of taking the law into their hands. They should rather apprehend and hand over suspected criminals to the police for appropriate action," he said.

He warned those on the run to surrender to police before they are hunted down.

"Those on the run should know that we have profiled them. So, they should just hand themselves over to the police and answer charges of attempted murder, before we hunt them down," he added.