Top govt official ambushed by suspected armed rustlers in Karamoja
Kotido District Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Mr Joseph Lomongin. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- A regional police chief has confirmed the attack he described as “shocking.”
A top government official and his driver Friday afternoon survived death after the pair was ambushed by suspected armed rustlers in Uganda’s restive Karamoja Sub-region.
The Kotido District Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Mr Joseph Lomongin was attacked at around 2pm from a location close to a military barracks.
"Imagine it is not even at night…but day time when people are still in their gardens and moreover near the 405 army brigade,” Mr Lomongin visibly seemed to wonder.
The CAO further said that the suspected criminals jumped onto the road and started firing at their in-motion car.
“I was traveling from Kotido to Moroto District when I was shot by armed rustlers but the bullets never got me or the driver,” he said of the incident on the Kotido-Moroto Highway.
Kotido District Police Commander Mr Moses Akena confirmed the attack he described as “shocking.”
“Joint security forces are already following the attackers whose motive is not yet known,” he told this publication.
Deadly ambushes have persisted in the Karamoja Sub-region despite increased deployment of armed forces. More than 50 civilian lives have been lost in the attacks and hundreds of animals stolen in brutal raids over the past one year.
"We are glad that the CAO never sustained any injuries. Even his driver escaped with no injuries but the culprits will be brought to book," Mr Akena remarked.
