Police Arrest Six Masterminds Of Kampala-Mityana Highway Robberies

Six suspected highway robbers have been apprehended by the Police Flying Squad Unit on the Kampala-Mityana road. The suspects have been identified as Ibrahim Ssemuwemba, a resident of Busega Rubaga division in Kampala, Ignatius Lwassampijja, a resident of Gombe village in Mityana, and Hakim David, the chairperson of Mirembe Kaweesa village in Kasanda district, according to Charles Twine, a spokesperson for the Criminal Investigations Directorate-CID.

Emmanuel Ddamulira, a Wabigalo resident in Mityana, Emmanuel Kimbowa Ssegayi, a Nazigo mechanic, and Ronald Kayiira, a resident of Mirembe-Kawesa in Kasanda district, are the others. The six are being held on aggravated robbery charges. The suspects have been committing robberies since December 2021, according to the police, primarily targeting people transporting produce from Mityana, Mubende, Kasanda, and Butambala.

The same gang members are accused of impersonating police or army officers while performing their legal duties to their unsuspecting victims. On January 23, 2022, at Bamunanika village along the Mubende Kampala highway, thugs dressed in army uniforms and armed with toy guns, machetes, and hammers staged a bogus roadblock and robbed the occupants of a Fuso truck with the registration number UBG 709G, which was loaded with 80 bags of maize destined for Kampala.

They also robbed their victims of Shillings 1.2 million and mobile phones before assaulting the truck driver Richard Lubega and three other passengers. They roped their victims and dumped them in a forest 2 kilometers away from the crime scene. The truck was later discovered abandoned in Mukono after being involved in a motor accident with only 40 bags of maize, according to Twine.

“Mukono traffic officers arrived at the scene of the accident and discovered that the motor vehicle had been reported missing and had been blacklisted in the system from Mityana,” he said. “A flying squad unit team was dispatched to Mityana and the surrounding neighborhoods to begin tracing for the thugs.

He explains that when questioned, the businessman revealed who had sold him the maize. “A search of their homes was conducted, and several items of evidentiary value were recovered.” “The suspects confessed to multiple robberies and then led the team of investigators for scene reconstruction, which was done on a consistent basis to validate their criminal acts,” Twine said.

According to the police, the suspects staged another robbery along the Mityana-Kampala road on March 8th, 2022, when they intercepted truck reg number UBH 231E, which was carrying 95 bags of maize. They stabbed the truck’s occupants, including Alex Isabirye and Christopher Waako, and dumped them behind the cabin before driving away and abandoning them in the bush.

The vehicle was discovered the following day along Busunju Road. On January 20th, 2022, the suspects robbed a canter truck with the registration number UBK 522S, which was loaded with 68 bags of maize, using a similar method. They assaulted the truck driver, David Njaana Muhereza, and his turn man, Kenneth Tumwesigye, and then abandoned them. The thugs stole their phones and money.

Police have warned motorists and business owners to avoid driving late at night transporting produce, which provides opportunities for criminals. “Businesspeople should not buy products from people who appear to be unknown. Lodge owners and managers are instructed to strictly profile all of their clients and report anyone they suspect is planning or has already planned to commit a crime.

According to CID records, some of the suspects had previously been charged in court and either served and completed their sentences or jumped bail. “We will engage the court and meticulously reveal the character of these criminal gangs and the extent to which they are a danger to society, and we will most likely request an expedited hearing of their cases,” Twine explained.