Iron bar hitmen terrorise Kampala
Sep 13, 2008
A new wave of robbery and killings involving gangsters wielding iron bars has hit Kampala and surrounding areas. The attackers ambush their victims in dark corners and hit them using iron bars locally known as <i>mitayimbwa</i> before making off with their money and valuables.
By Chris Kiwawulo
A new wave of robbery and killings involving gangsters wielding iron bars has hit Kampala and surrounding areas. The attackers ambush their victims in dark corners and hit them using iron bars locally known as mitayimbwa before making off with their money and valuables.
The Regional Police Commander Kampala Extra, Edward Ochom, yesterday said they had developed effective systems of tracking guns used in crime. As a result thugs have resorted to using iron bars to avoid being easily tracked down.
“I would not say this is organised crime. These are the same criminals who have been using guns to terrorise people. Most of these people have been in and out of prison,†said Ochom. “Sometimes when we arrest these criminals, the public says we are arresting innocent people. It is hard to get them red-handed but we use our intelligence.â€
Ochom said the Police had increased night patrols, started surprise swoop operations and was developing a system to follow up criminals in and out of prison to prevent future crime.
“We are receiving useful information from both the public and local authorities. We have started carrying out operations and very soon we shall get rid of these criminals,†he said.
However, he revealed that some local authorities were conniving with the criminals, citing some in Kisenyi. Others, he said, fear to report the criminals because some of them are connected to influential people.
The dreaded mitayimbwa robbery was rampant in Jinja in the 1970s, 80s and early 90s.
Who are they?
The Police say this new style of robbery is carried out by both men and women.
“The female muggers drink with the potential victims whom they lure into the dark spots upon getting drunk. This is where their male counterparts pounce on the unsuspecting victims,†said a Police officer, who was involved in the arrest of some of the suspects.
Most of these mitayimbwa men are well built and wear huge jackets in which they hide the iron bars. Some use huge stones placed in sisal bags to hit their victims.
Most of the muggers are marijuana smokers and are conversant with the road network in the places where they operate.
According to Police sources, the mitayimbwa men operate in dark spots between 8:00pm and 5.00am. Often they use innovative escape techniques. At Kampala’s Clock Tower, for instance, they enter a drainage tunnel that can lead them as far as Kisekka market, over one kilometre away.
Some mitayimbwa men hire boda boda cyclists while others ride their own bikes, sometimes posing as boda boda men.
Recently several cases have been reported in different parts of Kampala and surrounding areas. Abdu Kitaka, a resident of Katooke-Kisimu in Nabweru sub-county, Wakiso district was hit by two men who were moving on a boda boda at around 9:00pm last Wednesday. The thugs left Kitaka for dead as they fled with his 200,000 and a Nokia 3310 phone. He was treated in Mulago Hospital.
Deo Ndugwa Mukiibi of Para zone in Namasuba along Entebbe Road was hit last Sunday and his property taken. Passersby found him lying in a pool of blood by the roadside on Monday morning. He died at Mulago hospital. In Kiteezi, nangabo sub-county, John Kateete, Charles Kabogoza, Josephine Bogere and Musisi were hit with iron bars and left injured. Other cases have been reported in Kawempe, Makindye, Nakawa, Lubaga and the central divisions of Kampala district. The problem has also been reported in some parts of Wakiso and Mukono districts.
On Wednesday the Police in Kampala arrested three suspected mitayimbwa men at Kyebando, Kawempe division. The three, Alex Mutyaba, Bbosa Mutyaba and Medi Mukalazi, had a huge stone in a sisal bag. Mutyaba confessed to hitting four people with iron bars. He said his business was to stun his victim with a metal bar and grab their property, so he doesn’t care to find out whether they die or not. Mutyaba, a boda boda rider, also confessed that they had hit a drunkard in Ntinda but did not find any valuable on him.
Kawempe division Police chief Simon Peter Wafana warned residents against these criminals and urged the public to report anyone they suspect to be involved.
Wafana last week met Maganjo residents after they invited him to discuss the increasing cases of mitayimbwa robbery. He promised to work with the community in stamping out the bad elements.
A new wave of robbery and killings involving gangsters wielding iron bars has hit Kampala and surrounding areas. The attackers ambush their victims in dark corners and hit them using iron bars locally known as mitayimbwa before making off with their money and valuables.
The Regional Police Commander Kampala Extra, Edward Ochom, yesterday said they had developed effective systems of tracking guns used in crime. As a result thugs have resorted to using iron bars to avoid being easily tracked down.
“I would not say this is organised crime. These are the same criminals who have been using guns to terrorise people. Most of these people have been in and out of prison,†said Ochom. “Sometimes when we arrest these criminals, the public says we are arresting innocent people. It is hard to get them red-handed but we use our intelligence.â€
Ochom said the Police had increased night patrols, started surprise swoop operations and was developing a system to follow up criminals in and out of prison to prevent future crime.
“We are receiving useful information from both the public and local authorities. We have started carrying out operations and very soon we shall get rid of these criminals,†he said.
However, he revealed that some local authorities were conniving with the criminals, citing some in Kisenyi. Others, he said, fear to report the criminals because some of them are connected to influential people.
The dreaded mitayimbwa robbery was rampant in Jinja in the 1970s, 80s and early 90s.
Who are they?
The Police say this new style of robbery is carried out by both men and women.
“The female muggers drink with the potential victims whom they lure into the dark spots upon getting drunk. This is where their male counterparts pounce on the unsuspecting victims,†said a Police officer, who was involved in the arrest of some of the suspects.
Most of these mitayimbwa men are well built and wear huge jackets in which they hide the iron bars. Some use huge stones placed in sisal bags to hit their victims.
Most of the muggers are marijuana smokers and are conversant with the road network in the places where they operate.
According to Police sources, the mitayimbwa men operate in dark spots between 8:00pm and 5.00am. Often they use innovative escape techniques. At Kampala’s Clock Tower, for instance, they enter a drainage tunnel that can lead them as far as Kisekka market, over one kilometre away.
Some mitayimbwa men hire boda boda cyclists while others ride their own bikes, sometimes posing as boda boda men.
Recently several cases have been reported in different parts of Kampala and surrounding areas. Abdu Kitaka, a resident of Katooke-Kisimu in Nabweru sub-county, Wakiso district was hit by two men who were moving on a boda boda at around 9:00pm last Wednesday. The thugs left Kitaka for dead as they fled with his 200,000 and a Nokia 3310 phone. He was treated in Mulago Hospital.
Deo Ndugwa Mukiibi of Para zone in Namasuba along Entebbe Road was hit last Sunday and his property taken. Passersby found him lying in a pool of blood by the roadside on Monday morning. He died at Mulago hospital. In Kiteezi, nangabo sub-county, John Kateete, Charles Kabogoza, Josephine Bogere and Musisi were hit with iron bars and left injured. Other cases have been reported in Kawempe, Makindye, Nakawa, Lubaga and the central divisions of Kampala district. The problem has also been reported in some parts of Wakiso and Mukono districts.
On Wednesday the Police in Kampala arrested three suspected mitayimbwa men at Kyebando, Kawempe division. The three, Alex Mutyaba, Bbosa Mutyaba and Medi Mukalazi, had a huge stone in a sisal bag. Mutyaba confessed to hitting four people with iron bars. He said his business was to stun his victim with a metal bar and grab their property, so he doesn’t care to find out whether they die or not. Mutyaba, a boda boda rider, also confessed that they had hit a drunkard in Ntinda but did not find any valuable on him.
Kawempe division Police chief Simon Peter Wafana warned residents against these criminals and urged the public to report anyone they suspect to be involved.
Wafana last week met Maganjo residents after they invited him to discuss the increasing cases of mitayimbwa robbery. He promised to work with the community in stamping out the bad elements.