Two Uganda policemen arrested over stealing from Rwandan
Kigezi regional police spokesman, Mr Elly Maate. Photo/ Robert Muhereza
What you need to know:
- Police say the Rwandan was –upon arrival-- intercepted by Uganda police officers who claimed that he had fake currency.
Two Uganda policemen attached to Katuna border station in Kabale District have been arrested on allegations of aggravated robbery, authorities have said.
Kigezi region police spokesperson Elly Maate Sunday morning identified the suspects as 25-year-oldPolice Constable (PC) Gracious Tusiime and 26-year-old PC Zechariah Ekiyankundire.
“It's alleged that on March 1, 38-year-old Rwandan complainant Thomas Habanabakize came from the country to the Katuna border town in Uganda to do shopping,” Maate said.
Police say the Rwandan was –upon arrival-- intercepted by Uganda police officers who claimed that he had fake currency.
“Shortly thereafter, the two police officers robbed the complainant of 85,000 Rwandan Francs (about Shs260,000) and that or immediately before or immediately after the time of the said robbery, they used deadly weapon to wit guns, and that after, forced him to use another route back to Rwanda not the gazetted border route,” Maate informed journalists in a brief statement.
Maate added that the complainant refused the directives and reported the matter to an immigration officer at the Katuna border station, who in turn informed the officer in charge of Katuna police station.
“The officer in charge of Katuna police station immediately summoned the accused persons and interviewed them about the allegations of aggravated robbery which they denied before he referred the matter to Kabale Central Police station for further management,” Maate said.
Kabale District Police Commander Joseph Bakaleke, together with the district officer in charge of criminal investigations Hakim Mukama, and other officers have since visited the alleged crime scene.
The above security officials obtained statements from relevant witnesses before the accused policemen were arrested as investigations into the matter continue, according to Maate.
Meantime, a case of aggravated robbery has been registered at Kabale Police against the accused policemen.
The 2023 annual police crime report showed that Ugandans lost cash and valuable assets worth Shs1.8 trillion to criminals during the year, up from Shs859b in 2022, despite overall crime prevalence declining by 1.5 percent in 2023.
