Two guards of UPDF top officer arrested at scene of robbery
A joint security team has arrested two soldiers attached to a Major General of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), who are suspected to have been spying on a police operation in Masanafu, Rubaga Division where detectives bust armed robbers and recovered two guns on Tuesday.
The two soldiers, a sergeant and a private, are detained at Central Police Station in Kampala awaiting interrogation by a team comprising officers from police, Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence and Internal Security Organisation.
A security source, who preferred anonymity, said a star pistol with 15 bullets suspected to be owned by the UPDF was recovered from the two soldiers. Police also impounded the vehicle, a Toyota Noah, which the suspects were using at the time of arrest.
Efforts to get a comment from the army spokesman, Brig Richard Karemire, about the arrested soldiers were futile by press time.
Kampala Metropolitan police spokesman Patrick Onyango could neither confirm nor deny the arrest of the soldiers.
“Investigations into the Masanafu incident are progressing well and the suspects are yet to be interrogated. This is a joint investigation so if there are soldiers that were arrested, get details from the army spokesman, who speaks for the army,” Mr Onyango said when asked about the incident.
On Tuesday, police carried out an intelligence-led operation at a residence in Masanafu, where they recovered two AK47s guns belonging to the army after an intense shootout between police and the suspects. One suspect was arrested while another, Richard Kasirye, a UPDF soldier, escaped.
A police officer was shot and injured in the shootout.
The source said the two soldiers attached to a Major General, arrived at the scene in a vehicle a few minutes after the shootout between police officers and suspected robbers. The source said the two soldiers parked on the roadside to recce on the police operation.
The said UPDF Major General was once instrumental in the crackdown on violent crimes in Uganda. We couldn’t talk to the UPDF officer by press time.
Background
Different view. On December 19, 2017, soldiers attached to the same Major General were arrested by the police Flying Squad Unit on allegations of robbing a Chinese company of Shs300m in Rubaga Division, Kampala.
The guards had apparently deployed a teenager to recce the company premises.
