Police, through its spokesperson, has further provided details about the six gang members gunned down as they tried to rob alleged Shs300 million from a client at a local bank branch along Acacia Avenue in Kololo.
The six were gunned down on Monday last week in a foiled robbery at a local bank branch in upscale Kololo.
Police spokesperson, Kituuma Rusoke while speaking to the country about the incident, said the gang members had ‘graduated’ from boxing and kicking their victims to using pangas to carry out robberies.
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“The suspects constitute part of a larger gang known for targeting individuals carrying large sums of money who had graduated from non-armed assaults. It has previously been targeting people without using tools but boxing and kicking victims into submission. They have been targeting victims from either banks or money-serving outlets like mobile money centres,” Rusoke said.
The deceased gang members were disclosed as Hamis Muhamed, Sharif Lukwago, Michael Ssebakka, Fahad Katongole, and Adam Tusabe, whom police said had a previous record of participation in robberies recorded at various police stations around Kampala.
The police spokesperson narrated that the gang had previously been involved in robberies where cash amounting to over S557 million was robbed from victims using pangas.
He said on June 15, 2024, the gang robbed Shs394 million and $ 17,450 (about Shs64 million) from an accountant in Nakawa, Shs57.4 million from another victim near Case Hospital along Buganda Road after withdrawing it from Centenary Bank on December 9, and Shs30.7 million from another businessman in Industrial Area on January 4, 2025.
Following the shooting, a section of members of the public condemned the police for outrightly killing the suspected robbers without trying to arrest them.
Internal Affairs Minister Gen Kahinda Otafiire vocally opposed the shoot-to-kill incident, and Inspector General of Police Abbas Byakagaba apologized over the shooting while appearing before parliament.
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke also reiterated the apology, adding that in case of anything that didn’t go right during the operation, they are carrying out an investigation to give details.
“If there were any excesses, like all operations, anything can go wrong; there are clear intentions and deliberate efforts to look into this matter. If there is anything that went wrong, we shall look into it and come up with remedies. However, I want to tell the public that these groups are real and people are being targeted.”
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