Police in Luweero District are searching for a security guard and his accomplices following the robbery of Shs24.8 million at a fuel station situated in Market Zone, Kasana Town, within Luweero Town Council. The incident occurred on April 2.
According to Mr. Sam Twineamazima, the Savannah regional police spokesperson, initial investigations suggest that the security guard collaborated with suspected robbers who posed as customers at the Mack fuel station.
The guard allegedly administered porridge laced with chloroform to his two colleagues stationed at the fuel station just before the arrival of the robbers early in the morning. This act is suspected to have rendered the other guards unconscious, facilitating the robbery.
The assailants, dressed in civilian attire, feigned interest in purchasing fuel worth Shs50,000. However, they swiftly turned violent, threatening the pump attendant and forcibly seizing cash amounting to Shs24.8 million, along with laptops and agency mobile phones from the station’s office.
The security guard, believed to be the orchestrator of the robbery, reportedly joined the thugs in intimidating the pump attendant and later absconded with them, abandoning his firearm at the scene.
The two incapacitated guards, identified as Tabitha Labacanda and Angesilas Paddy, were rushed to Bishop Asili Hospital in Luweero Town for medical attention.
It is suspected that Bernard Otim, the fugitive security guard, spiked his colleagues’ porridge with chloroform, rendering them unconscious and facilitating the robbery.
Remarkably, unlike many armed robberies, this incident transpired without the discharge of any firearms. The absence of gunfire suggests that the assailants may not have been armed themselves but were aided by the armed security guard stationed at the fuel station.
Background information reveals a concerning trend of robberies across Uganda, with the 2023 annual police crime report documenting a total of Shs7.29 billion stolen from various locations throughout the country. Despite this, only a fraction of the stolen funds, amounting to Shs102 million, was recovered by authorities. In Luweero specifically, robbery cases surged from 93 in 2022 to 119 in the following year.
