Uganda holds 10 police officers for stealing from thieves

Author: Chany Ninrew | Published: Friday, May 5, 2023

Handcuffs - Courtesy

Police in Uganda’s capital Kampala have arrested 10 officers over allegations of robbing 39,000 US dollars from suspected thieves accused of stealing 109,000 US dollars from a Burundian national last week.

According to investigators, three thieves riding on a motorbike grabbed a bag containing $110,000 and Euros700 from the Burundian who had just left a forex bureau in the suburban city of Makindye.

The victim fainted upon losing the money, but volunteers resuscitated him before one of the helpers telephoned a police informer the same day to alert law enforcement about the crime, Daily Monitor reports.

The officers got the victim whom they promised to help out after he narrated how his cash was grabbed by unknown thugs.

It is also reported that the police Crime Intelligence officers, without notifying their superiors tracked the suspects and recovered the unspent cash.

They then declared less money than they had recovered from the thieves, prompting further investigation.

Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperon Patrick Onyango, confirmed that efforts are underway to recover all of the stolen cash so that it can be turned over to the distressed owner.

“When the suspects were interrogated, they revealed that the officers who arrested them recovered $50,000 (Shs185m) and Euro500 (Shs2.1m), but officers declared at the police only $20,000 (Shs74 million) and Euro120 (Shs504,000),” Onyango said according to Monitor.

“After investigations, the investigators reached a conclusion that the 10 officers who participated in the arrest of the suspects should be questioned again and their homes search[ed] with the intention of finding the missing money,” he said.

The daily newspaper also understands that the officers were arrested and held for two days at the same Katwe Police Station where they had locked up the suspected thieves.

They were then charged with aggravated robbery against the law enforcers because their operation to arrest the first suspects and cash recovery involved use of guns.

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