Uganda police arrest 100 over machete attacks

File photo: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

File photo: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Published May 25, 2017

Share

Kampala – Police in the Ugandan capital Kampala have arrested 100 criminals suspected of using machetes to advance their crimes over the last two weeks.

Kampala Metropolitan police commander, Frank Mwesigwa said the suspects were arrested from the areas of Bwaise, Namugongo, Najjeera, Makindye and Nabweru, Uganda's Daily Monitor newspaper reported on Thursday.

Mwesiga said police had also confiscated other weapons which were allegedly being used in attacks against people both at night and during the day. These included machetes, an AK47 rifle with 24 bullets, a pistol with 9 bullets, scissors, knives and axes.

"We arrested these suspects because of good co-operation from civilians. They gave us the details regarding the movements of the criminals and their operations and this information helped us to arrest them," he said.

"We suspect the pistol was stolen from a civilian. We are yet to get the source of the rifle we recovered because it does not have any security markings," said Mwesigwa.

He further noted that police also arrested 13 other people believed to be the suspects' accomplices, bringing the total number of arrests to 113.

Ninety-two of the suspects were arraigned before various courts earlier in the week before being remanded to Luzira Prison on the outskirts of Lake Victoria. "These suspects were arraigned at Makindye, Nakawa and Nabweru courts. They were charged with aggravated robbery, burglary and theft. Furthermore, we recovered 10 monitors and 15 motor vehicles," Mwesigwa added.

Three weeks ago, the army and police arrested 65 suspected criminals that were terrorising Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono residents. The suspects were arraigned before court and charged with murder-related offences. They were also remanded to Luzira prison.

Crime involving the use of machetes was first reported in Mbarara Municipality in November 2016. In February 2017, the crime spread to Sembabule Districts and peaked when it spread to Lwengo, Bukomansimbi and the Kampala Metropolitan area.

Last month, the Inspector General of Police, General Kale Kayihura paraded over 30 suspects whom he said had been arrested over Masaka and Kampala machete attacks.

African News Agency

Related Topics: