Road accidents: Thieves' paradise

SUNDAY VISION

They hover around major highways like vultures waiting for their prey. Their wish? That an accident should happen so that they can loot valuables.

By Charles Etukuri

On August 25, 2012, Felix Osike, an editor with New Vision, left Kampala for his home village in Tororo. But before they could reach Iganga town, they had an accident.

“It was approaching 9:30am and we were about 3km from Iganga town when the front tyre burst, forcing the car to overturn and roll four times before stopping on a road bunker,” Osike says.

The family remained trapped in the car.

“I sustained a deep cut on my forehead and because I was bleeding profusely, my vision was blurred. My wife had multiple injuries on the arm and knee, but was stable. The other passenger complained of chest and back pain,” he says.

Because the car had rolled over, the doors could not open.

Osike says they called for help and when help finally came, to their surprise, they were not Good Samaritans, but thieves. The people were more interested in the property than saving their lives.

They started looting as the trio wailed in pain. They took the merchandise they had in the boot of the car. One looter who had just come from the garden used his hoe to rip open the bonnet so he could steal the car battery.

Even after Osike’s wife managed to come out of the car, the rescuers would not let her get out with any of the valuables.

“My wife tried to pick her bag, my phone and a laptop, but the looters pushed her back, saying she should leave the things in the car. When she was finally out, she called for help and I was also pulled out,” he says.

Within a short while, the family had lost all their valuables. They were only lucky that two genuine Good Samaritans came in time to save them.

“One of them stopped a motorcycle which took us to hospital, while another called the Police rescue team to tow the vehicle from the accident scene,” recalls Osike.

To date, he is still in shock. “I have heard cases of accident victims being killed as marauding gangs who hide under the pretext of being Good Samaritans grab their valuables,” he says.

Osike is only one of many victims in what is now becoming a habit of Ugandans who live along major highways. Several people who spoke to the Sunday Vision told of their harrowing ordeal at the hands of these thieves.

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Idlers hang around accident prone spots along the highway in anticipation of a mishap so they can loot valuables. ILLUSTRATION/Danny Barongo

Just last month, a crowd was caught on camera grabbing bags, shoes and wallets from passengers who were screaming for help. It is so bad that sometimes accident victims are killed or injured even more when they try to save their valuables.

Susan Kigenyi, a banker in Jinja, still nurses a scar she got after being hit with a piece of metal as she attempted to protect her bag. While travelling from Iganga to Jinja, she was involved in an accident at Bugembe in Jinja.

“Two people seated next to me died on the spot and I was lucky I survived. But when people came to rescue me, I could clearly see that they were thieves. I had money which I was taking home to pay my siblings’ fees, but when I held onto the bag, a bulky man hit me with a metal object. I had to let go of the bag,” she says.

Robbing identity

“In some of the cases, the thieves even take one’s identity documents and personal belongings, making it hard to try and locate their next of kin,” says Sebbi Onito, the brother of two-time national golf amateur champion Charles Yokwe, who died in a road accident near Lugazi in 2005.

Yokwe was heading to their family home in Jinja when the accident occurred. The mini-bus in which he was travelling had a head-on collision with a Kampala-bound fuel tanker near Lugazi.

Yokwe’s phone and wallet were stolen and his body was taken to Kawolo Hospital with no identification.

Uganda Professional Golfers Association (UPGA) secretary Fabian Rwalinda, says: “We got concerned about Yokwe’s whereabouts. We tried calling his phone for two days, but it was off.”

Rwalinda was among those who led the search and helped identify the body four days after it lay unclaimed. “His family members were also in the dark. They were expecting him in Jinja late Sunday evening. Finally, we called Kawolo Hospital and were told there was one unclaimed body, so we dispatched a team that went and identified him.

“His phone was stolen. His professional golfer’s ID and the money he had on him were also taken. Perhaps if they had left them on him, it would not have taken that long to identify our friend’s body. The the mortuary people would have contacted us early enough. This should surely stop,” Rwalinda says.

In instances where accident victims stubbornly cling to their property, the determined thieves become violent and cause more injury or even death. ILLUSTRATION/Danny Barongo

Not so lucky

Last year, the Police in Lwengo arrested a Local Council official of Katovu village for allegedly stealing over sh230,000, a mobile phone and other properties from accident victims.

Ramanzan Kabanda was among the first people who had turned up at the scene of an accident at Kalegero town about 2km from Lyantonde. The accident left two people dead and 10 others injured.

Kabanda led a group of people who pretended to be rescuers, but instead robbed the victims of their belongings. They took money and other valuables from the bodies of the driver and his turn-boy, who at the time were alive, but left to bleed to death.

The victim’s Fuso truck, number UAP 752L, heading to Mbarara, collided with a Western Coach bus, registration number UAE 898U, heading to Kampala.

Based on a tip-off from some concerned residents, detectives followed Kabanda up to his home and recovered the money and the mobile phone of one the deceased persons.

Kabanda claimed that he took the money and phone for safe keeping until the owners recovered. He added that he was planning to take the items to the Police at the time he was arrested.

Foolhardiness

Whatever the risk, they will still loot. Last week’s trailer inferno in which over 30 lives were lost in Namungoona, is one such incident. A few years ago, there was another tragedy at Busesa, where over 60 people were burnt to death as they rushed to siphon fuel from a fuel truck that had overturned.

Sunday Vision visited some of the accidents spots where survivors had been robbed of their valuables and talked to some of the residents.

“It is a lifetime opportunity when this accident happens. It is the only opportunity for us to get our hands on expensive items like phones and other valuables,” John Kitimbo of Magamaga says.

Many of the residents said this was an opportunity to make a quick kill. In some blackspots, residents even ‘patrol’ the area, waiting for an accident.

As we interviewed Kitimbo, a trailer carrying soft drinks passed by and he wished it would fail to negotiate the bend so he could cash in on the sodas.

Sunday Vision also learnt that some residents on highways even pour molasses or soap on some roads, causing cars to skid or veer off the road.

In 2010, the Police had a rough time controlling rowdy residents of Kitintale after a truck belonging to one of the beer companies overturned, spilling beer. Some got so drunk that they were unable to crawl from the scene of crime.

Police warning

The Police has warned people who live along main roads and steal the property of accident victims to desist from such practice.

Patrick Onyango, the deputy Police spokesperson, said anyone caught would be dealt with severely to deter others. “It is a crime to steal,” Onyango said.