The Flying Squad in the Albertine Region has recovered eight stolen cows and arrested one suspect in Masindi. The cows were recovered on Sunday from Kijunjubwa village in Kimengo Sub County in Masindi district.
It is reported that thugs on Saturday raided the home of a cattle farmer only identified as Koozo of Kijunjubwa village in Masindi and made off with his nine cows.
Julius Hakiza, the Albertine Region Police Spokesperson stated that, after the case was reported to Masindi police, a team of flying squad detectives was immediately dispatched to the area. He says, the detectives managed to recover eight cows out of the nine that had been stolen.
Hakiza says, one suspect whose particulars have since been concealed for fear of jeopardizing police investigations has been apprehended and was immediately whisked to the Masindi central police station where he is currently being detained while his accomplices are still on the run.
He has appealed to the members of the public to offer police timely information especially on cattle theft stating that the majority of people who steal animals connive with herdsmen.
Cattle farmers in the Bunyoro sub-region have for long been battling with cases of cattle theft in the area.
Between January and March of 2018, more than 100 cows were stolen from farmers in Buseruka sub-county in Hoima district.
The most affected cattle farmers then were from the villages of Tonya, Kabaale, Buseruka, Rwamutungo, Kasenyi-Lyato, Kayera, Nyamasoga, and Kiryamboga.
In May 2023, four suspects, including a retired Lieutenant from the Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF), were arrested and detained on charges of cattle theft in Hoima.
The suspects were then identified as Wycliffe Kyamanywa (38), the retired UPDF Lieutenant and a resident of Nankulabye village in Kitoba sub-county in Hoima, Hamdan Ayesiga (26), a resident of Buseruka sub-county, Bosco Byabasaija (39), a resident of Bukerenge village in Kitoba sub-county, and Aramazani Mugisa (64), also from Bukerenge village in Kitiba sub-county.
They were arrested during an operation conducted by the police under the leadership of the then Hoima District Police Commander, Jackson Bogere, in response to numerous public complaints about rampant cattle theft in the district.
Acting on intelligence, the police raided a bush in Bukerenge village in Kitoba sub-county and found the four suspects slaughtering two cows suspected to have been stolen.
Police impounded two vehicles that the suspects were allegedly using to transport the stolen animals. The vehicles, Noah registration numbers UAT 289G and UAF 414S were later driven and parked at Hoima Central Police Station.
In the same operation, police also confiscated a UPDF uniform, a toy pistol, and machetes from the suspects.
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