WAKISO . The Police in Kampala Metropolitan area have arrested 13 Uganda Peoples Defence Forces(UPDF) soldiers who raided Wakiso Police Station ,Wakiso District on Monday evening .
The suspects attached to Presidential Taskforce on Land Matters & Environment stormed the police station driving in a mini bus commonly known as drone Reg.No UBG 041U and a Toyota Noah Reg.No. UBR 647B.
In a statement dated June 2, the police management, said the soldiers confronted the Wakiso Division Commander and other officers at the station while pursuing a land dispute in the area .
“They demanded that the Division Police Commander (DPC) assist in a land eviction, which she refused , citing the absence of a court and the lack of involvement from the district security committee .
“Her refusal angered the military personnel , leading them to confronting her .In response ,her fellow officers at the station used armed force , resulting in an exchange of gunfire that force the soldiers to flee the scene ,” the statement reads in part
“Subsequently, as police team from Kampala Metropolitan North Region and the UPDF pursued and apprehended the suspects at Yesu Amala in Wakiso District .The detained soldiers are currently in custody pending disciplinary action .”
According to police sources , the disagreement stemmed from a land dispute involving the owner of Kenjoy Supermarket in Nansana Municipality and his brother . Last weekend , soldiers ,accompanied by workers affiliated with the supermarket owner, allegedly raided the disputed piece of land , fenced it off without notifying police or the district residence commissioner .
On Monday , a rival group associated with the super market’s brother reportedly uprooted the fence . In response , the same soldiers returned to the site and arrested six members of the rival group ,taking them to Wakiso Police Station .However , the DPC allegedly declined to detain the suspects without first consulting her superiors ,a move the soldiers viewed as defiance .
Last month , soldiers stormed Lubowa Police Station along Kampala-Entebbe Road ,assaulted police officers on duty and beat up civilians who had come to register cases . The attack followed the soldiers’ arrest of eight people whom they accused of the attempted assassination of a judicial officer and illegal parking in Lubowa Housing Estate .Police declined to detain the suspects , prompting confrontation that left police officers and civilians with injuries .