Four policemen arrested over escaped suspects

Four Police officers have been arrested in connection with the escape of eight suspects accused of punching and robbing a Somali businessman of sh300m.

The eight suspects escaped from a Police bus registration number UP 1932 as they were being taken from Buganda Road Court to begin a two-week remand period at Kitalya Prison.

Among the arrested policemen is the driver only identified as Kagawa, and escort guards Vincent Kwesiga, Peter Wandera and Thomas Kibumba.

The four are being interrogated over how the bus was opened and the suspects, who were handcuffed in pairs, managed to get out.

"A Police coaster is not like any other passenger bus with a boot where you can store cargo. Its backdoor is still intact. So, how did these suspects manage to get out?" wondered one of the detectives tasked to investigate the matter.

The source said the officers' matter has also been reported to the Police Professional Standards Unit for action. The source added that the implicated Police officers' profiles were not in the force's system, which created more curiosity.

As a result, the Police had also queried the recovery of the money from the suspects at the time of arrest.

During a house search by Police operatives, they recovered slightly over sh15m out of the sh300m that was grabbed from the businessman.

It has also emerged that during the arrest, one more suspect identified as Michael Lukwago, was allegedly tortured to the extent that he could no longer walk by himself.

"So, they did not declare him among the suspects nor did they record him in the retention book. Instead, they kept him in one of the rooms at the Central Police Station and this was kept as a secret," the source revealed.

It is not very clear why Lukwago was tortured. The source revealed that he is being discreetly treated at a medical facility around Kampala.

Escape

Led by Abdulrahman Bukata alias Pancho Urban, a former inmate at Naguru Remand Home, the eight suspects broke their handcuffs before escaping from the bus, according to the Police.

The suspects, who are all facing robbery charges, were handcuffed in pairs and they were all seated in the back seats of the bus.

The other suspects are Ibra Kigundu, Julius Mugisha, Benard Dan Nganizi, Ibrah Ssozi alias Kisenyi, Michael Lukwago, Farouk Juma Otto alias Tomusange and Bilal Mulenzi.

The suspects were on board together with 40 others at the time of the escape. According to the Police, they were only 10 minutes away to Kitalya Prison when they escaped through the emergency exit.

However, as the Police launches a manhunt for them, the gang left a series of clues showing that they could have been aided to escape.

According to sources, the Police officers who were on the bus are under investigation, and if found to have aided the escape, they will face the full extent of the law.

Another source said: "Don't fault the Police on the escape as yet. They are not trained to escort prisoners."

During the COVID-19 period, prisons authorities scaled down on providing escorts for freshly remanded suspects, leaving the duty to the Police.

This was after an inmate at Kaiti Prison in Namutumba district, was isolated from the rest after he got into contact with a person who had tested positive in Mayuge district. The inmate later tested positive but he was treated and he recovered.

Without divulging further details, the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) spokesperson, Charles Mansio Twiine, confirmed the escape.  "The hunt is on and we shall find them," he said.

Background

Bukata allegedly commanded a gang of armed robbers, who in May trailed a Somali businessman who had done a bank transaction in the city centre, before he punched and robbed him of sh300m.

Police identified the businessman as Abdu Fatah Ahmed who operates Amal Forex Bureau at Equatorial Mall in Kampala.

The robbers after snatching the bag containing the money escaped on bodabodas leaving the businessman unconscious outside the entrance of the forex bureau.

He was rescued by his workers including the security team that later called in the Police.

Following the investigations Police started rounding up suspects and the eighth was picked early this month by the Police's Flying Squad Unit - tasked to pursue hard core criminals, according to Twiine.

"All the suspects implicated in the theft are former convicts that served jail terms ranging between one and four years over aggravated robbery sentences," Twine, recently told New Vision.

They were sentenced to Naguru Remand Home and Luzira Prison respectively.

According to Twine, most of the perpetrators of violent crime are executed by persons that had earlier been taken to court.

Police recovered sh2m from Mugisha's home, Ssozi (sh3m), Bukata (brand new blankets, mattresses, a land title) and Tomusange (sh10m).

What happened?

On May 21, the suspects started trailing Ahmed after they were tipped by an accomplicem(a bodaboda operator in town) who often transported the victim to the bank. The accomplice (names withheld) is still on the run.

The robbery was carried out on the May 22. After they were tipped off about the bank transactions, the suspects studied his routine of bank withdrawals and deposits.

Preliminary Police findings indicate that they spent two weeks trailing their victim as they got into shape at three different gyms located in Kawempe, Kabalagala and Old Kampala.