Gangs such as the “Kayondo Boys” and “Virgin Breakers” have taken hold in schools, including Nkoma SS and Mbale High School, threatening students and extorting money from those perceived as weak or vulnerable.
Mbale, Uganda: A wave of gang violence, intimidation, and extortion in secondary schools across Mbale City is raising alarm among residents, students, and local leaders, with new reports linking student groups to murder, fear-based control, and criminal activity in and around educational institutions.
According to eyewitnesses and victims, gangs such as the “Kayondo Boys” and “Virgin Breakers” have taken hold in schools, including Nkoma Secondary School and Mbale High School, threatening students and extorting money from those perceived as weak or vulnerable.
“The alleged activities of these gangs include extortion, phone snatching, violence, intimidation, and humiliation,” said Namboyo Isaiah, a local resident who spoke to DailyExpress on Thursday, July 31.
“One recent incident reported that a Senior Four student, Shafik Wasike, was stabbed to death by a rival gang member. The authorities have been informed, but the response has been questioned,” Namboyo added.
Another source, who requested anonymity for safety, described a school system in crisis, where gangs operate with impunity and some students are forced to pay money just to feel safe on school premises.
“Gangs have taken over. Senior One students are being forced to pay money to attend school and for their own protection,” the source said. “The school system has failed miserably.”
The reports have triggered growing calls for immediate government intervention. Residents and leaders are now demanding a security task force be deployed in Mbale City to crack down on school-based gang activity.
Mbale Assistant Resident City Commissioner (ARCC) Kadimba Hussein, when contacted by DailyExpress, confirmed that the issue is under review. “We are working on it. We had a meeting about the same matter this morning. Don’t worry—we are going to handle it.”
A Pattern of Violence in Mbale
The rise of school gangs comes just weeks after a gruesome murder in Busajja-Bwankuba B, Mbale City, where a young woman was hacked to death by two assailants in what locals called a cold-blooded killing on June 11. Enraged residents launched a manhunt and lynched one of the suspects, setting his body ablaze. The second suspect escaped and remains at large.
Ass RCC Kadimba, who visited the scene, described the crime wave as “overwhelming” and linked it to increased drug abuse and a weakening moral fabric in the community. “The murdered woman had just been married,” he said, condemning both the crime and the rising tide of mob justice in Mbale.
The growing insecurity in both schools and the wider community has triggered a sense of urgency for structural reforms in Mbale’s law enforcement approach. Stakeholders are calling for the deployment of a school-focused task force, reinforcement of permanent police posts in high-risk areas, and partnership between school administrations, parents, and law enforcement.
The community also demands counseling and rehabilitation services for student gang members, as well as tougher crackdowns on drug abuse and criminal syndicates
Without swift and firm intervention, locals fear the security situation in Mbale may deteriorate further, endangering students and undermining the region’s educational and social progress.
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