Police have confirmed the death of one person and another critically injured in an encounter to arrest armed thugs who raided a mobile shop in Luzira last night. Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, Patrick Onyango has identified the deceased as Richard Ssenyondo, and the injured victim as Betty Nakigudde, who were shot at around 09:30pm in Luzira Stage 7 Zone, Nakawa Division, and a Kampala suburb.
The armed group of thugs raided the mobile shop of Aggrey Bahati and Annah Nyamukulu who were in the process of closing their Mobile Money outlet.
Two of the assailants fired shots into the air, causing panic, and Bahati managed to escape, leaving Nyamukulu trapped inside the shop. The criminals proceeded to break into the shop, stealing a total of UGX 72,000,000.
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According to witnesses, as the perpetrators fled the scene, they encountered members of the public who attempted to intervene. During the encounter, the thugs discharged their firearms, resulting in the shooting of the two victims.
In the same process, Onyango said, the responding police only managed to arrest two of the thugs. The two suspects who are currently detained at Jinja Road are Vincent Guma aged 34 years, a soldier, and a resident of kikubamutwe army barracks along Kayunga road.
And his counterpart Darglous Mugerwa aged 47 years, Legal Assistant, and a resident of Lake Side Luzira, Nakawa Division.
“An AK-47 firearm was recovered as evidence. A team of police officers from the Kampala Metropolitan Police East and Jinja Road Police Division visited the crime scene and recorded statements from relevant witnesses.” Onyango said.
Police have since handed the body of the deceased, Richard Ssenyondo a businessman residing in Mutungo, Nakawa Division, to the City Mortuary in Mulago for a postmortem examination. “The injured victim, Nakigudde Betty, has been identified and is receiving medical treatment. The investigation is ongoing, and the police are pursuing leads to arrest all other accomplices on the run with money.” Onyango added.
Cases of mobile money raids have been on the rise across the country in the past two months. Recently while presiding over the plenary, the speaker of Parliament Anita Among, decried the rampant cases of mobile money robberies. She tasked the Prime Minister Robbinah Nabanja to follow-up to establish why cases are on the increase.