Police confirm guns recovered in Masaka robberies were stolen from officers

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Police have confirmed that two firearms recovered from suspected gangsters behind violent robberies targeting coffee factories in the greater Masaka region are government-issued weapons that were previously stolen from Police officers.

During the joint security briefing at Police headquarters in Naguru, Kampala, on Monday, July 28, 2025, Police spokesperson Rusoke Kituuma told journalists that the rifles recovered during a joint security operation belonged to the Uganda Police Force but were stolen during earlier attacks.

The officers from whom the guns were taken have since been charged with negligence.

“These firearms were confirmed to be our own. They were forcibly taken from Police officers in separate incidents. Unfortunately, the suspects later used them to commit a series of violent crimes, including robberies at coffee factories,” Kituuma said.

The revelation follows the arrest of Bruno Juuko, the alleged commander of a notorious gang linked to a spate of armed robberies across Masaka, Kalisizo, Kyotera and surrounding districts.

Juuko was captured in a dramatic operation in Masaka city on Friday night after a weeklong security crackdown that began with a violent robbery at Mazima Bugaga Coffee Factory in Kyotera district on Thursday. In that incident, five armed men held the factory manager at gunpoint before fleeing with over shillings 50 million.

According to Masaka Police region spokesperson Twaha Kasirye, the suspects were pursued by security forces shortly after the robbery.

They were intercepted at Kizigo Village, leading to an armed confrontation that left one suspect, Lawrence Ssenyuumu, dead. Four other suspects managed to escape during the firefight.

“The following day, at around 8:30pm, we successfully arrested Bruno Juuko, the group’s ringleader,” Kasirye said in a statement issued on Saturday.

“We recovered two rifles and neutralised one armed suspect. Our officers, with support from sister agencies, have dismantled a criminal racket that has been terrorising coffee traders and factory operators in the Greater Masaka region.”

The recovered firearms are now undergoing forensic analysis to establish their full history and links to other crimes.

Police say Juuko’s arrest is a significant breakthrough in ongoing investigations into organised crime syndicates targeting agricultural businesses, especially coffee factories and traders transporting goods between Masaka, Kyotera, and Kampala.

Top cash theft districts

According to the Annual Crime Report 2024, a total of 8,163 cases of robberies were reported to the Police countrywide in 2024, compared to 7,772 cases reported in 2023, giving a 5% increase in this crime category. Cases of Robberies where lethal weapons were not used were 5,047 cases, while cases of Aggravated Robberies where lethal weapons like firearms, knives, hammers and machetes were used were 3,116 cases.

By the end of 2024, out of the total cases of Robberies reported to Police, 2,898 cases were taken to court, 1,263 were not proceeded with, while 4002 cases are still under inquiry. Out of the total cases taken to Court, 465 cases secured convictions, 49 cases were acquitted, 368 cases were dismissed, while 2,016 cases are still pending in Court.

The same report says 573 cases of robbery of cash were reported to the Police in 2024, compared to 551 cases reported in 2023, giving a 4% increase in this crime category.

However, going by the trends, Kyotera district has, over the years, registered rising cases of cash robbery. The district registered 15 cases in 2024, 10 in 2023, eight in 2022, one in 2021 and two in 2020.

Mayuge registered the highest number of cases of Aggravated Robbery of cash in 2024 (25 cases), followed by Mityana and Nansana with 23 cases each, Mukono with 19 cases, and Katwe with 17 cases, among others, as shown in the table below.