70 arrested as police hunt for bus thugs

By Luke Kagiri

Over 70 people have been arrested in Mityana as police hunt for thugs that waylaid a Kalita bus in the wee hours of Monday morning.

The operation commanded by Mityana district police commander Henry Kintu mainly targeted lodges in the town that are said to habour criminals who execute their missions at night.

Kintu directed that anybody found in a lodge without proper identification should be arrested. Of the people who were arrested 50 were released on police bond while 70 were detained.

Kintu said there were lodges known not to register visitors. "Criminals hide in these lodges and plot their missions and we know their owners," he said.

He said in one of the lodges they found house breaking implements in a room but the occupant managed to elude police and escape.

Police hunt for most wanted thug

The operation followed a daring mission on Kampala-Mityana road in which a Kalita bus was waylaid, driven into a forested area and passengers made to strip before thugs frisked them and fled with sh50m in cash and other valuables.

As investigations took shape, police raided Rajab Kirya' home on Monday evening in Kkulambiro near Kisaasi, a Kampala suburb and searched it but found no exhibits. true

Kirya (right) who has been on police's most wanted list for long over several crimes including murder is believed to have orchestrated the mission.

The Police found Kirya's wife at home but on interrogation she seemed ignorant of what was going on and confessed she did not even know what work exactly her husband did for a living.

The operation to arrest Kirya was launched at Mityana police after a tip off that he was in the area atteding a burial.

However some of Kirya's spies spotted and identified plain-clothed cops who went to the burial ceremony to coordinate the arrest. When Kirya was tipped off he took to his heels while making an alarm.

Puzzled and frightened mourners who were spooked by the alarm fled in disarray giving Kirya a window of opportunity to escape. Police investigations later revealed that Kirya had been in the area to oversee what would later turn out to be the daring bus raid.

The DPC Kira road Edunyu said Kirya is wanted in connection to the murder of Brave Inemani in Kamwokya last month. On the fateful night

Inemani was counting the day's sales and preparing to go home with thugs struck him. They shot him dead before fleeing with sh20m in cash.

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Detectives search Kirya's home in Kkulambiro

Kirya is also wanted for the murder of one Kamugasha of Mutukula recorded on file number CBR/305/2012.