LIRA, UGANDA: Police in Lira have confirmed the death of a 61-year-old man who was beaten to death by a mob when he tried to rescue his son caught stealing fresh maize from a neighbor’s garden.
The deceased identified as Mr Patrick Otike, a peasant farmer was a resident of Omol Cell, Banya Ward in Amach Town Council.
It is alleged Otike attempted to rescue his son from the angry mob on Sunday October 16 after the latter was caught red-handed harvesting maize from a garden belonging to the neighbour identified as Jimmy Owiny.
“Upon receiving the news that their son was being beaten, Otike and his wife Betty Apio went for a rescue mission but he ended up being the target,” locals say.
According to North Kyoga regional police spokesperson Patrick Jimmy Okema, “Otike sustained deep cuts on his head which made him bleed a lot following the mob action.”
He was rushed to a clinic at Amach Trading Centre before being referred to Lira Regional Referral Hospital for treatment where he was pronounced dead.
“The scene was visited and statements were recorded from relevant witnesses. At least nine suspects have been identified and efforts to have them apprehended are ongoing,” said Mr Okema.
“Unfortunately, we have not been able to conduct a postmortem because the relatives have also not turned up. Postmortem can only be conducted in the presence of the relatives of the deceased,” he added.
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