Police launch hunt for gunmen in Jinja shop robbery

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Police in the Kiira region have launched a manhunt for three suspected armed robbers who raided a businessman and made off with cash on Friday night.

James Mubi, the Kiira regional police spokesperson, said the trio, armed with two guns, a hammer and a knife, were yet to be identified, invaded the general merchandise shop of Fred Nkuutu.

During the 8:04pm robbery in Muguluka west zone, Kagoma town council in Jinja district, Nkuutu, who is also a coffee dealer in the area, was put at gunpoint and robbed of sh2.5m among other items.

Mubi said attempts by neighbours to intercept the raiders hit a snag when the robbers shot bullets in the air to scare them as they sped off in a salon car.

Eyewitnesses said that despite the gunshots, they kept pursuing them until they disappeared into the nearby sugarcane plantation.

Police retrieved a cartridge which was yet to be submitted to its ballistic experts to aid in their investigations.

Mubi explained that no one was injured in the scuffle.

Locals reported that this was the second time the thugs had raided Nkuutu’s shop, although they failed them during the first attempt.

Meanwhile, Charles Nsaba, the Kiira region police commander, said they had intensified efforts to track the culprits through the flying squad and joint intelligence coordination to apprehend them for trial as well as recover the deadly weapons in the wrong hands.

The commander ordered his men to be on high alert by conducting joint intelligence coordinated operations geared at weeding out all suspected criminals to ensure peace, stability and development in their respective areas.