Cops arrested for stealing from accident victims

By Charles Achoda

A cadet Assistant Inspector of Police and four others, including two crime preventers, are being held at Ngora CPS in connection with alleged theft of items recovered from an accident scene along Kumi-Soroti highway.

The officer in charge Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Directorate (CIID) in Ngora, James Okodel identified the suspects as Cadet Hillary Mugambe; Detective constable Brian Otyeng; constable driver David Opolot; Martin Emmanuel Apungia and Simon Oluka both crime preventers.

Okodel said that when investigations are complete, the suspects will be charged over theft.

He said the arrest followed an outcry from several airtime consumers who had bought airtime which could not respond to voucher activation.

He said when the accident happened, the officers rushed to the scene and loaded recovered items onto the police Pickup, but upon delivery to the police station, the suspects are said to have searched the victims' bags.

Okodel identified the shop keepers who had bought the suspect airtime as, John Bosco Ekwam, Peter Amolo and Teobaldo Opio all residents of Ngora Golden Complex Ngora town council.

He said that Ekwam bought airtime worth 200,000, Opio 150,000 and Amolo 50,000 but could not be loaded when tried.

"When you try loading this airtime it will tell you that, the voucher is stolen or missing", Opio said while speaking to The New Vision.

Opio narrated that they bought airtime because the seller that they identified as Emmanuel Apunyia told them that the airtime was on promotion.

Airtime worth sh43m belonged to one of the passenger, Jimmy Okot travelling in a commuter taxi involved in the February 21 accident. Okodel said that the airtime was recovered from Apungia's home.

Eight people died instantly after the vehicle lost control due to a tyre burst near Kapir trading center.  

However, when contacted, the chairperson security committee in the district who is also the RDC Ngora, John Henry Ariong decried the unprofessional conduct of some police officers in the district.

RDC said that the up professionalism of some police officers in the district has portrayed negative picture to the police in the district.

RDC Ariong singled out three cases in which Cadet ASP, Hilary Mugambe was deeply involved.

Some of them include extortion of sh500,000 from the head teacher Ajeluk PS Peter Odongo; sh200,000 from the herdswomen; an illegal drug operation in the district in which he extorted an unspecified amount of money; took over sh300,000 meant to facilitate the polling agents during the NRM primaries and many others.

The DPC Ngora, Esau Atorom Opio said the suspects will be subjected to the required disciplinary measures.

"As police we don't condone indiscipline in the force and that there is nobody above the law whether you are police officer or not", Esau said.