Inmates Flee As Warders Hunt Rabbit

By Nathan EtenguA total of 31 inmates escaped from Kotido prison recently when the warders who had been deployed to guard them went chasing a rabbit.The inmates were working in the garden near the prisons when a rabbit emerged from near-by shrubs.The UPDF 3rd division Operations Commander, Lt.Col. John Baptist Mulindwa, said the five warders took off to chase the rabbit leaving the bewildered inmates behind.“While they were chasing the rabbit, the inmates also took off,” Mulindwa said.Mulindwa said 10 of the Karimojong inmates who escaped, had been convicted while 21 others were on remand on charges of illegal possession of fire arms.He said among them was a self-styled Brigadier identified as Muria Lopuwa of Kalogwang village, Watakau parish in Nakapelimoru sub-county, Kotido district. Mulindwa said the incident was a big draw back to the UPDF efforts to apprehend defiant armed Karimojong warriors.“The biggest danger we now have is that the escapees had been arrested with the assistance of some of the local leaders in the villages. They are likely to endanger the lives of those who helped in their arrest,” Mulindwa said.A security source said a number of inmates had been planning to escape for a long time.Ends