How Banda gangs rob during floods

May 13, 2019

The well-coordinated move had one of the ‘rescuers’ pass the bag to a man in a red raincoat. The gang members ran off with the handbag.

Kampala experienced a heavy downpour on Saturday night, which continued into Sunday morning.

This saw a number of suburbs, such as Banda on the Kampala-Jinja road, flood. With the road flooded, motorists and pedestrians rely on Good Samaritans, who also include pickpockets, for help.

This was evident on Sunday morning when a well-coordinated, gang guided a woman off the road into a submerged drainage channel. The woman fell into the channel and started fighting for her life and letting go of her handbag in the process as the gang dived in to steal her valuables.

The well-coordinated move had one of the ‘rescuers' pass the bag to a man in a red raincoat. The gang members ran off with the handbag.

The traumatised woman was consoled by two members of the gang, who returned the bag.

Mpalanyi Ssentongo captured the pictures

As she runs to safety, two gang members follow and guide her towards a submerged drainage channel

The woman falls into the storm drain as the gang and residents watch

She screams for help as some of the gang members dive into the trench to grab her valuables

One of the gang members holding the woman's bag in one hand helps his colleague out of the trench using the other

The gang member walks away with the red handbag, leaving the woman in the gutter

A group of youth goes after the bag grabber in order to share the loot

Money is demanded of a bodaboda rider after he is helped out of a submerged storm drain

The woman is led away while being consoled after being pulled out of the ditch