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Police kill 6 suspected bank robbers in Kamwokya

A police Patrol with the bodies after the shootings. PHOTO URN

KAMPALA, UGANDA | THE INDEPENDENT | Police gunned down six suspected bank robbers during an operation aimed at foiling a robbery of a bank client in Kamwokya on Monday evening. A group of seven suspected robbers, who had reportedly planned to rob a Stanbic Bank client after they withdrew unspecified cash at Acacia Mall, was intercepted in a joint security operation by the Police Flying Squad and Crime Intelligence.

According to police, six suspects were shot dead on the spot, while one sustained critical injuries. Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson Patrick Onyango said the operation followed intelligence reports about the planned robbery. He explained that officers had been strategically deployed inside and outside the bank and along all key roads leading to the area.

Onyango stated that six bodies had been taken to the city mortuary, while efforts to apprehend the remaining accomplices were underway. He further noted that police had recovered all the motorcycles and other tools the suspects allegedly used in such robberies.

John Waiswa, a boda-boda rider stationed at Acacia, told URN that the operation unfolded across multiple locations. “Three people were shot dead at Mawanda Road Junction while escaping on a motorcycle, two were gunned down at Kasasiro Road, and one near Acacia Mall,” Waiswa recounted.

“I was coming from town, and upon reaching the City Oil traffic lights, I saw a group of people, some in a drone van and others on police motorcycles, chasing a group of five individuals fleeing on motorcycles,” he added.

According to Waiswa, the suspects split up during the chase, and gunshots were heard on Mawanda and Kasasiro roads. He also noted that one suspect was killed near Total Energies, opposite Acacia Mall. Mukasa Joachim, another boda-boda rider near the Total Energies fuel station, described how the sixth suspect attempted to flee by blending in with a crowd but was identified and shot twice in the middle of the road.

Police revealed that the group had long been on their wanted list and was linked to multiple robberies targeting bank clients withdrawing cash. Kampala Metropolitan has witnessed several cases of robberies involving groups trailing individuals from banks and ambushing them on the road, often using speeding motorcycles.

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URN

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