By URN
Police in Kikuube District are holding three suspected cattle thieves. The suspects, whose identities have been withheld to avoid jeopardizing ongoing investigations, were arrested early Monday morning around 5 a.m. after they allegedly raided Ibanda village in Buhimba Town Council and stole a cow from a resident.
Residents reported seeing the suspects transporting the cow on a Bajaj motorcycle and, growing suspicious, raised an alarm. The thieves abandoned the cow and the motorcycle, fleeing the scene, but were eventually caught by residents who pursued them. In the ensuing incident, angry residents set the motorcycle ablaze, leaving it burnt beyond recognition.
Joab Katusabe, a resident, said that suspicions arose when people noticed the unusual sight of a cow being transported on a motorcycle, prompting them to raise an alarm. Police responded promptly, rescuing the suspects from the mob, which was intent on lynching them. The suspects were taken to Buhimba Police Post and are pending transfer to Kikuube Central Police Station.
Julius Hakiza, the Albertine Region Police spokesperson, confirmed the incident, stating that the suspects will be arraigned in court after the completion of investigations.
In a related incident in September, three suspected cattle thieves were arrested in Hoima City. The suspects, whose identities were also concealed for security reasons, were apprehended in Kinubi Cell, Hoima East Division. Security impounded a vehicle, a Prado registration number UBB 824L, which the suspects were allegedly using for their illegal activities.
According to information from the Uganda Radio Network (URN), the suspects were part of a group of livestock thieves operating across the Bunyoro sub-region, including Hoima, Kikuube, Kakumiro, and Masindi districts. Intelligence reports indicated that the suspects were traveling towards Kampala in the Prado, prompting security to set up a roadblock, intercept and arrest them.
While in custody, the suspects reportedly confessed to stealing cattle in the Albertine region, collaborating with accomplices in Kampala, Wakiso, Gulu, Luwero, Masaka, Lira, and other districts to sell the stolen livestock. In a separate incident in May 2023, police in Hoima arrested four suspects, including a retired Lieutenant from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), on charges of cattle theft.
The suspects were identified as Wycliffe Kyamanywa, 38, a retired UPDF Lieutenant from Nankulabye village in Kitoba Sub-county; Hamdan Ayesiga, 26, from Buseruka Sub-county; Bosco Byabasaija, 39, from Bukerenge village in Kitoba Sub-county; and Aramazani Mugisa, 64, also from Bukerenge village.
The arrests followed a police operation in response to numerous complaints of rampant cattle theft. Acting on intelligence, police raided a bush in Bukerenge village, where they found the suspects slaughtering two cows suspected to have been stolen. During the operation, two vehicles allegedly used by the suspects were impounded: a Noah, registration numbers UAT 289G and UAF 414S. Additional items, including a UPDF uniform, a toy pistol, and machetes, were also confiscated from the suspects.
