KAMPALA .
Police have confirmed that two guns used in a recent violent robbery in Masaka City belong to the Directorate of Counter Terrorism.The revelation follows an incident last week at Kifuta Village in Kabira Sub-county, Kyotera District, where a 40-year-old manager of Mazima Bugaga Coffee Factory was attacked and robbed of Shs50 million by armed assailants.
Police spokesperson Mr Kituuma Rusoke told journalists on July 28 that the firearms used in the robbery were stolen from the residence of one of the directors at the Petroleum Authority in Naguru, Kampala, by police officers assigned as guards.
“The officers negligently abandoned the firearms, only to return and find that they had already been taken by unknown individuals,” Mr Kituuma said.Police said preliminary investigations indicated that, acting on a tip-off, security personnel intercepted the robbers at Kizigo Village in Kyannamukkaka Sub-county, Masaka District.
One of the suspects, Lawrence Ssenuumu, believed to have been in possession of the stolen cash, was shot dead during the operation.Authorities also recovered a motorcycle allegedly used by the gang in a string of robberies in the region.
Mr Kituuma confirmed that the police officers who lost the guns have been arrested, charged, and are currently on remand at Luzira Prison.“If you lose a gun, we take an interest in the circumstances under which it is lost. Once the defense is weak, we charge you,” Kituuma said.
Kituuma explained that the incident prompted a reshuffle within the force to rotate officers in various positions to prevent similar occurrences.There is growing concern within security circles over the frequency of firearms being lost by officers due to negligence or lapses in safety protocols.
Several police crime reports in recent years have detailed cases of guns being stolen during attacks on police posts or through carelessness by individual officers.