Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A team of flying squad operatives has been sent to join area police in the hunt of motorcycle and car thieves in Ankole and Kigezi areas.
Police source revealed that 15 operatives have set off from Kampala to Mbarara, Bushenyi and Isingiro districts where car and motorcycle robberies have been on the rise in the last three months.
A police source said the operatives will join another police team which has been formed purposely to ensure thugs attacking drivers and riders are neutralized. All these according to the police source have been ordered by director of police operations, AIGP Edward Ochom because of continued cases of attacks on drivers, riders and business persons.
“The OPS director has been getting daily updates about criminality taking place in Mbarara, Kazo, Bushenyi and Isingiro,” a police source said. “Several people have been robbed of their motorcycles and a number of cars have been vandalized. This is why the director has now put emphasis on the area.”
AIGP Ochom had earlier expressed concern over motorcycle robberies particularly in Mbarara city and neighbouring districts. Ochom said their intelligence reports indicated that riders were being attacked as early as 7pm.
“It started around November and December where thugs started robbing motorcycles using the same modus operandi they were using in Kampala,” Ochom said. “They hire you, reach somewhere, hit you and leave you for dead. They take your motorcycle away.”
Flying Squad is currently under the command of Senior Superintendent of Police –SSP Godwin Turamye. Before Martin Ochola was appointed Inspector General of Police on March 4, 2018, some Flying Squad operatives were being cited in the same car and motorcycle robberies. Ochola first disbanded the former team and tasked CID director AIGP Grace Akullo to screen all the operatives that were under the command of ACP Herbert Muhangi.
After the screening, 83 police officers and operatives were placed under the revamped Flying Squad which is now directly overseen by AIGP Akullo. Previously, Flying Squad only reported to IGP’s office.
Some of the motorcycle robberies and killings registered in Mbarara have happened in Kakoba division. Two suspected motorcycle robbers were lynched in Kakoba on the weekend. In Isingiro, robbers moving on a motorcycle a fortnight ago shot and killed businessman Busanda Laurent.
In Kampala, a gang allegedly commanded by Aloysius Tamale alias Patrick Sekyewa aka alias Young Mulo was linked to killing of 22 boda-boda riders between 2018 and 2020. Investigators named some of the riders allegedly killed by Tamale’s gang as Abdallah Nsubuga who was killed on January 21, 2019 in Kizungu zone Makindye, Emmanuel Galete killed March 13, 2019, at Salama road and Damiano Sekalaba April 24, 2019, near Country Club Makindye.
Other boda-boda riders allegedly killed by Tamale’s group are Tom Malaba who was killed on June 2, 2019, at Makindye, Godfrey Nkata on June 3rd at Makindye and an unidentified rider of UEW 256G motorcycles killed on May 29, 2019, in Makindye.
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