The warriors, who have been terrorizing the sub-counties of Rupa and Lotisan, had taken a break following security deployment and patrols in hotspot areas, particularly Nakiloro trading center, which led to the arrest of two notorious warriors.
The operation followed complaints from residents, especially the business community in the areas of Lusaka, Bujumbura, Kiryatete and Kiganda, all suburbs of Hoima city about rampant thefts and attacks by the suspected criminals in several parts of the city.
The suspect was arrested on Tuesday in an operation conducted in Busei A village, Iganga District, where he was allegedly assembling explosives in his room.
Joel Wambedde, a resident of Namulesa cell says that most residents were angered after noticing that some of the masterminds of illegal power connections in their area were the ones leading UMEME operations.
The operation was triggered by the increasing cases of motorcycle theft within Jinja city. It is reported that, in the past one month, eight cases of motorcycle theft were registered along the different highways connecting to Jinja city’s central business area.
The operations were prompted by leads provided by Paul Ogesa, the overall leader of Wakanda, a criminal gang, which specializes in snatching bags from women, house break-ins, drug abuse and syndicated aggravated robberies. The suspects surround villages armed with machetes and order their victims to surrender their valuables.
According to Police, the suspected tried to pretend like truck drivers when they saw officers approaching but the officers pinned them for fleecing surrounding communities of their valuables during curfew period.
They were picked from different parts of the university following a two-day operation, according to Jude Masingano Eliphaz, the officer in charge of operations in Makerere University.
Alaba was arrested following a 24-hour crackdown on adamant bar operators that was launched by the Jinja district security committee members on Friday night.
Angume was injured by a tear gas canister fired by his colleague targeting the protesters. Luke Owoyesigire, the Deputy Spokesperson Kampala Metropolitan Police confirmed the officer was injured but didn’t divulge details.
Eng. John Baptist Nuwamanya, Metering Services Manager at Umeme who led the operation says they have found out that many clients had added several components to their Yaka metres enabling them to utilize electricity without pre-loading tokens.
Speaking to Uganda Radio Network at their Western Regional offices in Hoima town, Samuel Kyomukama, the Head of Enforcement at National Drug Authority, said four people were arrested during the operation. The suspects include a one Bwambale and Wilson Ashaba of Ritz clinic in Nyahuka town council Bundibugyo district.
“By copy, hereof, the Executive Director Kampala City Council Authority is also asked to comply with the directive of H.E the President of the Republic of Uganda,” Ochola directs. ‘Idle and disorderly’ laws form part of what are usually referred to as ‘vagrancy laws.’
