Kotido, Uganda: Joint security forces have recovered an illegal submachine gun in Kotido District in a targeted operation linked to a recent highway robbery in the Karamoja sub-region.
According to Police Spokesperson ACP Rusoke Kituuma, the intelligence-led operation conducted on Sunday, April 12, involved officers from the Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces.
The operation led to the recovery of an SMG rifle with a single round of ammunition from a 68-year-old suspect identified as Lolem Lopusiteba, a resident of Kanamwar Village in Longaroe Sub-county.
“This development follows investigations into a recent highway robbery along the Kaabong–Kotido road, where the suspect’s son, Locheng Apalothia, is alleged to have used the firearm,” Kituuma said while addressing the media at the weekly press briefing on Monday.
Security agencies believe the recovered weapon was used in criminal activity along the volatile Kaabong–Kotido corridor, a route that has in recent years experienced sporadic attacks linked to armed groups and cattle rustling.
Earlier on April 2, joint forces impounded 107 head of cattle and three donkeys from the same village in connection with the robbery, in an operation aimed at dismantling networks suspected of facilitating livestock theft and armed crime.
The suspect and the recovered firearm are currently in the custody of the UPDF as investigations continue.
Kituuma noted that the operation forms part of ongoing disarmament efforts across Karamoja, where authorities have intensified security deployments to curb illegal gun possession and restore stability in affected communities.
The Karamoja sub-region has long grappled with illicit firearms, which have fueled cattle rustling, highway robberies, and inter-communal violence despite years of disarmament campaigns.
According to the Uganda Police Annual Crime Report 2025, cases of aggravated robbery, often involving firearms, remain among the most serious threats to public safety, with security agencies increasingly relying on joint operations and intelligence-led interventions to dismantle armed criminal networks.
Authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to sustaining pressure on illegal gun holders, warning that operations will continue until the region is fully stabilised.
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