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Uganda: Soldiers Arrested Over Robberies, Gun Trafficking
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The Monitor (Kampala)
27 March 2008
Posted to the web 27 March 2008
Zurah Nakabugo
Kampala
POLICE yesterday paraded 20 suspected criminals, a host of them soldiers and security men, who are being held for alleged robbery, murder and gun trafficking.
At least 11 of them are said to have been actively serving in the security sector. They include six soldiers, four private security guards, and one police officer. The others are civilians, the police said, adding that all the 20 suspects will be court-martialed for different crimes. The Rapid Response Unit of the police arrested the suspects in different parts of the country.
Two UPDF soldiers, Pte. Emmanuel Abbekocunda and Pte. Jackson Oduki, are among seven suspects accused of robbing Shs32 million from Chinese nationals working for China Civil Engineering Company at their home in Bugolobi in February.
Mr Martin Olwo and Mr James Owunyi, both security guards attached to Tight Security and KK Security respectively, were arrested in connection with robbery.
Mr Michael Komaketch, Mr Okello Bameka and Mr Babar Okullo alias Charles Otwopu, all of them civilians, are also suspected to have been connected to the robbery.
Police said the suspects connived with Mr Olwo, who was guarding the Chinese at the time of the robbery. They will now be court-martialed for robbery, the police said.
Kampala Extra Police spokesman Simeo Nsubuga said six guns and 206 bullets were recovered from the suspects and have been submitted to ballistics experts for investigation. "They will be tried by a court martial because they had guns.
All security officers were in service and they were using their guns to rob people instead of protecting them," Mr Nsubuga said. Also in custody is another UPDF soldier, Pte. Patrick Mutabazi, attached to the 39th Battalion in Gulu. He was arrested while selling a gun with bullets at Shs800,000 at Kabowa trading center in Kampala.
Mr Nsubuga said a police operative pretended he would buy it and managed to trap him. "On interrogation, Mr Mutabazi said he wanted to sell the gun to get some money to start a business and desert the Force," Mr Nsubuga said.
Two other soldiers: Pte. Raymond Draleti and Pte. Michael Cheptegei, both attached to Njeru Army Detach in Jinja, were arrested on March 9 with a gun and 20 bullets.
They allegedly wanted to rob a fuel tank driver in Jinja. The driver was headed to Kampala Kenya. Mr John Martin Omoro, attached to Kinyara Police Post, was arrested with three other suspects on February 14 at Kitonsi village on the Masindi-Hoima Road.
The other suspects were identified as Mr Brian Wonda, Mr David Busobolwa and Mr Steven Amati, all residents of Masindi. The suspects were found with a gun with 23 bullets. They allegedly stopped a bus at gunpoint at Kitonsi and robbed all the passengers of an unspecified amount of money and also stripped them.
Two other security men attached to Maximum Security, a private security firm, were arrested in Jinja on March 9 for alleged involvement in the robbery of a motorcycle.
The other civilian suspects were identified as Mr Wilson Kiboyigo and Mr James Muhanguzi, both residents of Nsambya in Kampala. They were found with a gun and two rounds of ammunition. They allegedly hired a boda-boda cyclist in Jinja with intention to rob him of the motorcycle.
Another soldier, Henry Baguma, attached to the UPDF headquarters in Bombo, was arrested for allegedly selling a pistol with seven bullets at Kirya village, Hoima District.
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Two other civilian suspects, Mr James Kiiza alias Muyingo and Mr Kamadah Simbwa, both residents of Gayaza, were arrested for unlawful possession of firearms. They were arrested on February 15 at Gayaza while selling a pistol at Shs500,000.
The suspects confessed that they had been using the guns for robbery in Gayaza and Kasangati near Kampala, police said. Mr Stanley Mwangusho, a civilian, was arrested for unlawful posession of a firearm. He was arrested during a robbery on February 17 in Namulyo village, Kapchwora District.
UPDF spokesman Paddy Ankunda said he would not comment on the suspects before confirming the identities of the soldiers. Mr Boniface Ebiru, the police deputy in charge of private security organisations and fire arms, who was attending a workshop yesterday, said statistics on the involvement of security officers in crime were not readily available.
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