MBARARA – A senior local government official in Kashare Sub-county, Mbarara District, has been placed on a police wanted list following multiple complaints accusing him of leading a livestock theft ring that targets pigs and other animals.
Fred Mwesigye, commonly known by his alias “Ekimasha kya Kashare,” serves as the LCIII Chairperson of Kashare. According to the Mbarara Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Nicholas Nuwagirira, the official’s office has received several formal complaints from community members alleging that Mwesigye is both directly involved in stealing animals and facilitating such thefts.
“We have credible information and multiple witness accounts linking a high-ranking local leader to the rising cases of livestock theft,” Nuwagirira said in a brief interview. “No one is above the law.”
In a dramatic escalation of the district’s crackdown on animal theft, the RDC has issued a directive ordering police officers to shoot and kill any individual caught in the act of stealing livestock. The order, which has sparked debate among legal experts, is aimed at curbing what authorities describe as an alarming wave of livestock-related crime in the region.
Mwesigye, whose nickname “Ekimasha” loosely translates to “the mover” or “the stirrer,” is known politically in Kashare. Efforts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful, as his known phone lines remained switched off. Police say he is still at large, and a manhunt is underway.
Local residents expressed mixed reactions. Some praised the RDC’s hardline stance, while others voiced concern over the shoot-to-kill order, calling it extreme.
The case has drawn attention to the persistence of livestock theft in Uganda’s western districts, where pigs, goats, and cattle are vital economic assets for rural families.
