Gunfire rocks Iganga as police pursue armed robbers

Police officers take cover as they exchange fire with suspected armed robbers in Iganga. PHOTOS BY YAZID YOLISIGIRA

What you need to know:

  • In the scuffle, however, police say they managed to capture one person and recover Shs41m.

Sporadic gunfire on Wednesday rocked Igamba village in Iganga municipality as police pursued three suspected armed robbers who had reportedly robbed Shs95m from a warehouse along Kaliro Road in Iganga Town.
The thugs, armed with an AK47 assault rifle, are said to have first blocked a car belonging to the warehouse before robbing the occupants at gunpoint.
The occupants were all employees of the company who were taking the money to the bank.

The Busoga East police spokesman, James Mubi, said the thugs then started firing bullets in the air to clear the way as they fled with their heist towards Luuka Road in a Toyota Corona with a fake identification number UAF 316K.
The trio is said to have abandoned the car by the roadside in Igamba village and fled into the nearby sugarcane plantation as police pursued them. Bullets were shot for several hours.

Residents take cover near the car that was reportedly abandoned by the suspected robbers

Mr Hassan Mutebi, an eyewitness, said an aura of gunshot sound engulfed the entire village as both sides fired at each other.
“The thugs were hiding in the cane plantations and were firing back as police fired at the position where they were,” Mr Mutebi said.
In the scuffle, however, police say they managed to capture one person and recover Shs41m.


“We have managed to get one of the thugs and are hunting for the two and the gun. We have combed the place and believe we shall catch them,” Mr Mubi said.
By the time of filing this story, police officers were still hunting for the other suspects.