Mob burns truck, lynch suspected cattle thief in Kayunga

Angry residents of Namabuga village in Kitimbwa sub-county, Kayunga District on Monday night burnt to ashes a man they allegedly caught transporting stolen cattle in a vehicle.

The Toyota Canter Reg. No. UBG270W which the thieves were using to carry the stolen animals was also vandalised and burnt.

Ms Beatrice Ajwang, the Kayunga District officer in charge of the criminal investigations department, who visited the scene said the deceased whose identity is yet to be established and his alleged accomplices still at large, on Monday night raided Mr Steven Boogere's cattle farm and stole five head of cattle.

Mr Mohamoud Mwase, the Namabuga village chairman said: "After stealing and loading the animals on the vehicle, they sped off but residents who had been alerted about the theft incident waylaid them along the way."

Mr Mwase added that when the thieves realised that they had been ambushed, the driver lost control and the vehicle veered off the road into a ditch.

“In the process, some of the suspected thieves fled from the vehicle into the darkness but residents managed to arrest one of them whom they beat before setting him on fire,” he said.

One of the stolen cows died but the four were rescued from the wreckage of the truck before it was also burnt.

"Reports indicate that the area has numerous cases of cattle theft. But I want to warn residents against taking the law into their own hands we want to interrogate these people and arrest all those they operate with," Ms Ajwang said.

This incident comes two days after residents of Kufu village in Busaana Town council in Kayunga District passed a resolution to kill on spot anyone caught in criminal acts.