Security personnel arrested in army hunt for armed gangs
A video grab of the arrested security personnel. Two of the suspects wore police and army uniform respectively. MONITOR PHOTO.
Kampala- Police and army personnel were on Friday arrested in an operation against armed criminal gangs in Kampala.
Soldiers attached to the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CIM) intercepted a car suspected to have been transporting armed criminals for a yet to be establish mission in Buziga in Makindye, Kampala, and arrested three people.
Mr Emma Semambo, an eyewitness, said two of the suspects in the intercepted vehicle were dressed in police and army uniforms respectively, with seven guns hidden under the car seats.
“We were in a taxi and we heard sirens. Our driver parked aside to give way. We were surprised when the cars with sirens intercepted a Corona car, which had also given way, and arrested its occupants dressed in army and police uniforms. They removed seven guns from the car as we watched,” Mr Semambo said.
The deputy army spokesperson, Lt Col Deo Akiiki, confirmed that it was an army-led operation but declined to give details on the number of suspects arrested and whether they truly had guns in their car.
“It is an ongoing operation by Joint Intelligence Group (JIG) to bust terror cells in Kampala. This operation started on Thursday night until the suspects were arrested yesterday [Friday]. It is still ongoing because there are many terror cells in Kampala,” Col Akiiki said.
The army said the media would soon be briefed on the number of suspects and exhibits recovered during the operations.
A fortnight ago, CMI and police raided a suspected terror cell in Namungoona, a Kampala suburb, in which a one Abdul Kateregga, who allegedly participated in the killing of former Buyende District police commander Muhammad Kirumira, was shot dead.
In the Friday video that has gone viral, soldiers are seen beating suspects in security uniforms with gun buts.
