Police recover second gun from city gang
Some of the items that were captured from suspected members of a criminal gang at Katwe Police Station on June 20, 2023. PHOTO/COURTESY.
What you need to know:
The pistol was recovered in a pit latrine where it had been dropped by a wife of the suspect in Mugongo Village, Kyengera Town Council in Wakiso District
Operatives from Police’s Crime Intelligence have recovered a pistol, which was robbed from a commissioner of Uganda Prisons Service following a raid on his home in January.
The pistol was recovered in a pit latrine where it had been dropped by a wife of the suspect in Mugongo Village, Kyengera Town Council in Wakiso District.
Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango said the gun has been identified as one robbed from the prisons’ officer.
“The suspect, Ronald Mbaziira, alias Imbax, is still on the run after escaping from lawful custody. Some of his accomplices in the gang that terrorised the city and its suburbs were earlier arrested,” Mr Onyango said yesterday.
Criminals attacked the home of the Commissioner of Prisons (CP) Gervase Tumuhimbise at night and beat him up. They then cut his daughter and beat up the officer’s wife and son. They robbed electronics and the pistol before fleeing the scene.
Mbaziira is one of the five suspects arrested in Makindye Division on June 7 as they were reportedly heading for a burglary in Bunga, a city suburb. During the arrest, the police recovered an assortment of house breaking equipment hidden in a Toyota Wish boot during the search at the checkpoint.
The police have so far linked the gang to 20 recent robberies, of which eight were reported last month alone.
According to police, the gang robbed their victims in Kitintale, Nakawa Division; Wakaliga in Rubaga Division; Kajjansi, Ndejje; and Bulenga in Wakiso District.
Mbaziira later escaped from police officers when he was taken for a medical examination.
His accomplices; Jamil Ssendawula, Ronald Mbazira, Nicholas Ssebandeke, David Mugula, and Fahad Akandwanaho are still in detention. Four other suspects are also detained to help in the investigations.
Mr Onyango said efforts to re-arrest Mbaziira are ongoing.
Before Mbaziira escaped, he had led officers for a search at his homes where suspected stolen items were recovered.
“One of his partners said he brought the pistol at their home and told her that it was his relative in the security who left it with him after deserting and fleeing abroad. The second partner also claimed to have seen Mbaziira with a pistol,” Mr Onyango said.
Mbaziira’s first partner said she threw the pistol, which was wrapped in a bag after she found it hidden at their rented house, in the pit latrine.
“They recovered the pistol deep in human waste in the pit latrine. It was cleaned and identified as one that was robbed from the senior prison officer,” he said.
This is the second gun police have recovered from the same gang.
