Stolen car recovered, three arrested in Lira

A vehicle that was stolen from Lira town on Tuesday evening was on Wednesday intercepted by Police in Kiryandongo and three suspects arrested.

The Toyota Noah, used as taxi on the Lira -Dokolo -Amolatar route, was stolen from Uhuru Bar stage at around 8pm local time.

The owner Alfred Ongeng had parked it before he went to buy water from a nearby shop, only to return and find it missing.

His friend, Innocent Okullo, said they ran to local radio stations and made an announcement before reporting to police.

A listener spotted the vehicle being driven towards Kampala and alerted the police who impounded it at Kiryandongo. Police in Lira was informed and they collected the vehicle and suspects.

Okullo said the suspects refueled the vehicle at Don Petrol Station in Lira town before they drove off destined for Kampala. They picked a passenger at Loro in Oyam and made another stopover at Karuma.

Officer-in-charge Moses Akena with the handcuffed suspects. (Credit: Hudson Apunyo)

The Regional Police Commander John Peter Ematu said this is the second vehicle theft in Lira in the last two years. The cars in the two cases have been recovered.

 "We are giving all the thieves in Lango region holidays until past Christmas because we are everywhere and we shall move day and night to ensure the people enjoy their Christmas without any interference," said Ematu.

He appealed to the community to report any strange person in their area to the police so that they act promptly. He appealed for facilitation to the police in case of need.

Lately, there have been several cases of theft and robberies of motorcycles in the region. Many youth have lost their lives or injured in the process by thugs who pretend to be passengers and turn around to hit the riders on the head and take off with their motorcycles.

Ematu said cases of motorcycle robberies have reduced after police arrested a number of suspects including ring leaders.

The suspects arrested with the vehicle have been identified as Morris Ogwang, Sam Opio and Denis Ojok.