Police arrest suspects in Mityana Catholic Church attack
Fr Emmanuel Kiyemba the parish priest points at one of the doors of St Joseph Busunjju Catholic Parish being fixed after it was broken by the thugs. PHOTO / JESSICA NABUKENYA
The hunt for suspects linked to the robbery and assault of residents at St Joseph Busunjju Catholic Parish last week, has yielded some results as police netted five suspects including some workers attached to the Parish.
The Police Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) spokesperson, Mr Charles Twiine, at the weekend confirmed their arrest in an ongoing operation to apprehend suspects the over 20 suspects believed to have raided the Church.
During the attack, the suspects robbed about Shs23 million, mobile phones, laptops and also assaulted the victims they robbed from.
The suspects reportedly had machetes, clubs among other objects that they used during the attack at St Joseph Catholic Church Busunjju.
“The suspects had several items believed to have been used for the break-ins at the Parish. Our team quickly launched the operations that led to the arrest of five suspects. This is a big breakthrough in our investigation process,” he said.
The suspects targeted the residences of Nuns at the convent and the priests.
Rev Fr Emmanuel Kiyemba, the parish priest who is also a victim of the attack said it is the second in a space of two years following the 2019 attack where property and cash valued at Shs10 million was robbed.
“Our colleagues were cut as they tried to escape and some are still on
treatment,” he said.
Meanwhile a section of the Christians were surprised to learn that some of the suspects currently under arrest are residents of the area. “We are very surprised to find out that some of the suspects are residents at Busunjju. We pray that the police rounds up all the suspects and get to know the truth behind the attack and robbery,” Mr John Mary Ssembajwe a resident of Bussunju said.
The Parish runs several projects under the Capuchin Friars Missionaries in Busunju located in Kiyinda Mityana Diocese, including schools.
At Busunju, they have a health Centre III, a primary and vocational school, as well as a modern church that is under construction.
