JINJA, UGANDA: The police in Jinja district have arrested four suspects on allegations of attacking a French national, Quentin Perie Jolu, 33, at the ongoing Nyege-Nyege festival at Itanda falls.
The suspects who are currently in custody at Buwenge central police station include; 27-year-old Walker Enyonyozi, a student of Makerere University Business School-MUBS Jinja campus, Eddy Ssekamwa, 26, John Kasule 30, and Abdul Sseguya 24.
Quentin is one of the revellers attending the four-day festival at Itanda falls in Butagaya sub-county, which has attracted thousands of people from different parts of the world.
Police says the suspects were picked up after Quentin implicated them of hitting him with a blunt object before fleeing off with his phone and other valuables.
A team of officers from the police health services unit and their counterparts from the Red Cross Society found Quentin lying unconscious along the Nile river banks and rushed him to Butagaya health center III for further management.
He later identified his attackers and the four have confessed to orchestrating several thefts but have since denied attacking Quentin.
In his statement, one of the suspects John Kasule explains that they operate in a team of four and target largely women’s handbags and jewellery.
“We are based in Kampala city and only accessed this festival as revellers but our coordination person here is Enyonyozi who helps us to spot soft targets with expensive jewellery and designer handbags,” he said.
He revealed that the rest of their teammates are then dispatched to initiate conjugal relationships with their victims before robbing them of their valuables.
Kiira Regional Police Spokesperson James Mubi says that they have deployed detectives to recover Quentin’s 1500USD, iPhone, warrant credit card, and other valuables which were stolen from him during last night’s attack.
“A team of police detectives and their counterparts from CMI have been dispatched to intensify efforts to weed out criminal-minded elements from the festival venue,” Mubi said, adding that they have also issued an emergency WhatsApp number where revellers and exhibitors alike can file their complaints for quick attention in case of any attack or encounter with suspicious activity in the course of the festival.
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