Four suspected MUST student killers arrested in Mbarara

Police in Mbarara have arrested four people suspected to have robbed and murdered Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) second year medicine student on Friday last week.

On Friday last week at 5:30am Brain Akampurira 20, a second-year student at MUST pursuing medicine was found lying dead in Taso village with marks of serious struggle on his body. Since then police has been hunting for criminals who ambushed the boy and hacked him to death as insecurity intensified in Mbarara.

"Due to the growing insecurity around MUST and Law Development Center Mbarara branch at students’ hostels, Mbarara district security committee headed by the Resident district commissioner has come out with resolutions to curb the growing crime around areas of residences of students and it is on that note that joint operations both foot and motorized by UPDF and Police in areas where students reside have started’’ Mr Samson Kasasira Rwizi region police spokesperson said.

Mr Kasasira said on Tuesday night that police and other sister security organizations carried out a joint operation where 50 suspects were arrested including four killers of MUST student.

"Last night (Tuesday night) Police and sister forces run a joint operation were 50 suspects were arrested and among them we got the key suspects in the murder of the university student and these four are Ssentongo Abdul Yasin 25, Atwiine Zubail 30, Ayesiga Mukama Osbert 17 and Ahimbisibwe Denis 21." Mr Kasasira said.

Mr Kasasira added "these four are the key suspects in the murder of Akampurira Brain that died recently and for them we are going to prosecute them in that line, the same people were arrested with suspected stolen property including Phones, a TV set, bags and other household materials that would be used as evidence when taken to court."

Mr Kasasira said the four suspects were arrested from their hide out in Ruti ward Nyamitanga division. "The four were picked from Ruti but their operational area is Mbarara at large. They operate in Tsao village, Kitobero, Ruti in Nyamitanga division, then they come to Booma in Kamukuzi division and all these areas are in Mbarara municipality. They do not have a specific area of operation but as longer as they have a mapped-out operation, they go there."

The suspects were arrested with two Rwandan girls identified as Stella Uwimana 18 and Shadia Shuti Uwimana 17 who are used as wreckers before an operation is made.

"The two Rwandan girls that were arrested are used as wreckers for these criminals. they are wreckers but we are yet to ascertain what they do in the roles of these criminal elements that we have arrested but according to the information that we have is that they are wreckers, because it is very hard to suspect a woman to be a robber so they go and wreck for these male counterparts to go and take action.’’ Mr Kasasira said.

Mr Kasasira added "apart from the four key suspects, the remaining number that we arrested last night, some of them were picked from isolated places which made police see them as suspicious people and they had to be apprehended. Some of them are going to be screened and let go but others will have been exposed, so if there is anyone out there that could have been either violated or abused by any of these individuals that we have exposed today can come to police with evidence to pin them’’
Mbarara district resident Commissioner Lt. Col James Mwesigye said there has been rampant cases of house breakings, petty theft, and murders but the arrest of the suspects will give people of Mbarara relief.

"There has been cases of petty thieves, breaking houses, those killing people like recently they killed a student of MUST and we designed operations to hunt these thugs for the last two days there has been operations and last night we came across some of the thugs even those suspected to have killed the student’’ Lt. Col. Mwesigye said.

He added "I want to assure Mbarara people that they are going to be safe, at least as long as we are here, we have fought crime by the way bigger crime than what is in Mbarara. These groups that you have seen are the ones that have been terrorizing Mbarara and the others at large and we shall get them."