Police has confirmed that three people have been killed in the northern Uganda district of Adjumani following a chaotic incident on Tuesday in which a mob attempted to lynch a suspected motorcycle thief.
The three people who died include a police officer, a student and another resident, according to a statement released by Police spokesperson SSP Emilian Kayima on Wednesday.
Police identified the deceased as Police Constable Hannington Mwesimire, a one Michael Anyama and Ben Opala who was a student at Biyaya Secondary School in Adjumani.
The mob is said to have also burnt six motorcycles in the compound of the Adjumani police station, in addition to a vehicle whose owner is yet to be identified. The vehicle was burnt from Adjumani town.
It is reported that late on Tuesday, police officers had engaged in running battles with boda boda cyclists after a cyclist had been shot at in the process of rescuing the suspected thief.
The angry cyclists then stormed the police station and torched part of it while some of the officers were whipped in the chaos.
“The situation was normalized and Police together with UPDF are patrolling the town to avoid any possible incidents from erupting,” SSP Kayima said in his statement.
He added; “The police station has been secured and the situation is under control”.
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura has Wednesday morning dispatched a team of officers led by the Police Chief Political Commissar AIGP Asan Kasingye to Adjumani.