Mob kills two innocent cattle dealers over false theft accusations -police
Residents gather at the scene where two suspected cattle thieves were killed and a truck torched at Kakwanzi Village, Kalungu District on May 4, 2023. Police said on May 5 that the two mob victims were innocent businessmen. PHOTO BY MUZAFARU NSUBUGA
What you need to know:
- Five residents said to have participated in the killing have so far been arrested
New information has emerged about two suspected cattle thieves who were lynched by an angry mob at Kakwanza Village, Kalungu District on Thursday morning, with police saying the deceased were innocent businessmen.
Ibra Nsimbe and another only identified as Masawuli were residents of Gomba District, according to police preliminary investigations. Masawuli died on spot while his associate Ibra Nsimbe died upon arrival at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital.
Hell broke loose around 4am when angry residents spotted a Fuso commercial truck parked by the roadside on Lukaya-Kiti Road. Since the area has suffered rampant cattle theft in the past months, residents suspected the occupants were part of the racket.
Residents saw the truck parked in the area during the day and when night fell, the same truck was still at the same spot. Curious residents approached the occupants who decided to lock themselves inside the truck out of fear.
“This annoyed residents prompting them to smash the truck windscreen and pull out the two men before beating them on suspicion of being thieves,” Mr Charles Kabugo, the chairperson of Kanwanzi Village, said.
By the time police arrived at the scene, residents had fled but the truck was still up in flames.
Police preliminary investigations have, however, showed that both Nsimbe and Masawuli were innocent.
Police said the two had bought 10 heads of cattle from a one Maj Kamugisha’s farm in Kiti, Bukulula Sub County in Kalungu District.
According to Mr Twaha Kasirye, the southern regional police spokesperson, Maj Kamugisha, has since recorded a statement at Lukaya Police post exonerating the deceased.
“Information from Maj Kamugisha’s recorded statement shows that the two persons killed by a mob had purchased 10 heads of cattle from his farm, but failed to take them because of a slippery road connecting to the farm. They decided to park the truck in another area as they waited for the road to dry,” he said on Friday.
“Their [deceased’s] plan was to load their cattle the next day[Thursday ], but unfortunately they were attacked by a mob in the night and got killed,” he said.
He said five residents have so far been arrested in connection with this gruesome murder of the two cattle traders.
“People are using mob action to kill others, but this has never been a solution to crime in modern society. We call upon anyone with more information that can aid our investigations on this matter to come out .,” Mr Kasirye said.
