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Authorities have confirmed the arrest of two Ugandan police officers stationed at the Katuna border station in Kabale District on charges of aggravated robbery. According to Elly Maate, the spokesperson for the Kigezi region police, the arrested individuals are identified as 25-year-old Police Constable (PC) Gracious Tusiime and 26-year-old PC Zechariah Ekiyankundire.
The incident reportedly occurred on March 1 when a 38-year-old Rwandan, Thomas Habanabakize, arrived at the Katuna border town in Uganda for shopping purposes. Upon his arrival, the Rwandan citizen was intercepted by the two police officers, who allegedly accused him of possessing fake currency.
Subsequently, Maate disclosed that the two policemen purportedly robbed the complainant of 85,000 Rwandan Francs (equivalent to approximately Shs260,000). Furthermore, they allegedly used firearms during the robbery and coerced the victim to use an alternative route back to Rwanda instead of the designated border route.
Upon refusing to comply with the directives and reporting the incident to an immigration officer at the Katuna border station, the matter was escalated to the officer in charge of the Katuna police station. Following an initial denial of the allegations by the accused officers during an interview, the case was transferred to the Kabale Central Police station for further investigation and management.
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Authorities, including Kabale District Police Commander Joseph Bakaleke and the district officer in charge of criminal investigations Hakim Mukama, visited the scene of the alleged crime. Statements from relevant witnesses were obtained, leading to the subsequent arrest of the accused policemen as investigations into the matter continue.
Meanwhile, a case of aggravated robbery has been officially registered at the Kabale Police station against the arrested officers. This incident adds to the concerns highlighted in the 2023 annual police crime report, which revealed a significant increase in losses due to criminal activities despite a slight decrease in overall crime prevalence during the year.
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