Residents lynch man for staging illegal roadblocks

Namayingo, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Angry residents of Nalubabwe village in Buswale sub county in Namayingo district have lynched a middle-aged man for allegedly staging illegal roadblocks and fleecing them of their valuables and money. The angry mob descended on 25-year old Matia Tamulina on Monday afternoon when they found him armed with a machete torturing Robert Ngolobe, a boda boda rider for allegedly violating traffic regulations.

Ngolobe was riding a motorcycle registration number UFF 421R when he landed in the suspect’s trap. The residents say that ever since the president declared the nationwide lockdown, Tamulina who claimed to be working with police, has been using logs to stage illegal roadblocks along the Buhatandu-Bungecha road with the aim of harassing and extorting money from unsuspecting members of the public.

According to the residents, Tamulina was found of threatening to arrest whoever failed to adhere to his directives, which fueled tension in the public. He says that they reported the matter to the police but nothing was done to stop the illegal conduct of the deceased.

A resident who spoke to URN on condition of anonymity, said that police was hesitant to arrest and prosecute Tamulina prompting an angry mob to lynch him. “Many of us have fallen victim to Tamulina’s illegal acts. Despite our persistent complaints, police have been reluctant to intervene in the matter and when the angry residents saw him beating up one of their own, they decided to lynch him,” he said.

The Busoga East Police Spokesperson James Mubi says that Tamulina is part of a racket that was robbing motorcycles in Namayingo before selling them off to the neighbouring Busia district. He says that police has since recovered a machete and log, which he was using to stage illegal roadblocks.

Mubi say that the deceased’s body is lying at Buyinja health center IV mortuary awaiting postmortem.

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