Police arrests five over Kampala bank robbery

By Jeff Andrew Lule & Simon Masaba         

KAMPALA - Police in Kampala have arrested five people in connection with the robbery of a bank, one month after a countrywide hunt by the Police Flying Squad.

Jimmy Okello, Alex Odong, Ronald Seku, Bosco Opena and Sharif Tolit are said to have robbed the Nakivubo branch of Diamond Trust Bank last month.

They reportedly made their way into the facility at about 8pm local time when the bank workers were winding up, put them on gunpoint, before making off with sh52m.

Patrick Onyango, Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson, said two other suspects are still on the run. Police investigations indicate that the perpetrators were aided by a security guard working at the same bank.

Footage from the bank cameras helped in tracking the gang.

“The managers of the bank reported to police about the robbery. We used cameras in the bank to identify these people and hunted them down from different parts of the country,” Onyango told reporters.

The first to be apprehended was Okello – in Lira district – who helped police in later arresting his accomplices. He is said to have masterminded the bank heist.

During the arrests, security operatives recovered a new blue Toyota vehicle (UAT 683H) and a motorcycle which they had reportedly bought using the stolen money. Police also recovered a rifle they used in the crime.
 

Onyango shows the vehicle that was recovered after the arrests. (Photo credit: Ronnie Kijjambu)

The five are detained at the Central Police Station (CPS) in Kampala and face charges of aggravated robbery.

Meanwhile, the Police Flying Squad also arrested three men for reportedly stealing a Magistrate’s car.

One of the suspects is the driver to Magistrate Flavia Nabakooza of Makindye Grade One.

The trio – Batte Godwin (the driver), Moses Kasirye and Moses Ssenoga – are said to have duplicated car keys for Nabakooza’s vehicle and eventually stole it in Kabojja.

The car was later recovered and the suspects are under police detention pending investigations.

Police’s Onyango said: “We are still hunting for others still on the run. We suspect it is a big racket.”