Wakiso, (UG):- Police in Kiira Division are investigating a case of murder after a suspected thief was lynched to death by a mob on suspicion of snatching a phone from a pedestrian going back home after work in Namugongo.
The incident happened in Mbalwa 2 Village, Namugongo Division, Kira Municipality, Wakiso District, on Wednesday 24th April 2024, a few metres away from All Saints Mbalwa – Church of Uganda, at around 10:00 pm.
According to witnesses the suspect who was in the company of two others, who managed to run away, was caught hiding in a nearby cassava plantation after an alarm made by one of the boda boda riders, who operate from a nearby boda stage called Kayembe who had gone for a short call.
The alarm got the attention of the others, who responded swiftly and grabbed him since they were on alert because that was the third theft, that evening.
Mr. Frank Ayebare a nearby resident while speaking to our reporter said, “Snatching of ladies’ bags and phones has become the order of the day by boys riding on bodas and those who pounce on their victims from nearby bushes”.
He added, “This is the second case of a suspected thief to be killed in the area, after another one was put out of action, by the security detail of one of the prominent government officials who is a resident, around Totez Nursery and Primary School”.
Earlier this month, DailyExpress reported that “Residents of Namungongo Division in Wakiso District’s Kira Municipality have cried to security forces to intervene in the wake of alarming deaths resulting from attacks by paver hitmen and thugs in the area. The hitmen who are said to be in their teens usually attack their victims from 10 pm onwards, spotting them in black spots where there is no or slow human and motor traffic”.
When approached by this publication for a comment Mr Kiboneka Frank, the LC 1 Chairman, Mbalwa 2 said, “In a bid to curb crime in the area they intend to have a meeting with the residents to awaken their security consciousness, as we also plan for safety pilgrims, during the Namugongo Martyrs period, which attract crowds days before the commemoration day 3rd June”.
He added; “On top of security patrols, they are carrying out ambushes at different spots and times which have resulted in nabbing culprits who are mainly non-residents”.
According to Mr Kiboneka, the influx of new faces into the area, both tenants and landlords could be another cause of the escalation of crime because there is no vetting of who is good or bad”. He also decried the unemployed youth who idle around the trading centres that they could be the ones wrecking for the thugs.
In our earlier publication, Hon. Kamugisha Edin, a former Woman Candidate NRM for Namugongo Division, to Kira Municipality, said “There is a need for installation of security lights along the roads of Mbalwa and the neighbouring areas”.
On his part, the LC. 1 Chairperson Mbalwa 1, Mr Katogo John, said “What is happening is overwhelming, but what is more worrying are the recurrent murders”. He however called on all the leaders in the areas to be vigilant at all times if the crimes are to be curbed.
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