Toyota Land Cruiser with Kenyan registration plates was intercepted by police in Lira, Uganda. The vehicle was suspected of being stolen from Kenya.
During the interception, a shootout occurred and a police officer was shot in the stomach. Three of the suspects were also injured, including George Otyato from Awendo in Migori County, Kenya, Hussein Akako from Tororo-Malaba, and Paul Omara from Oyugisi Homa Bay County, Kenya.
The vehicle has been impounded and is currently parked at Lira Central Police Station. A team of regular police and Flying Squad operatives are searching for the one suspect who escaped.
All the injured individuals are admitted to Lira Regional Referral Hospital. It is not yet clear what their involvement was in the raid.
The police had received information about a suspected stolen vehicle from Kenya and had set up a checkpoint in Lira City East Division. The vehicle’s movements through Tororo, Mbale, Soroti, and Lira were tracked using a monitoring system.
The suspects had changed the vehicle’s registration plates to UBE 665K while in Dokolo district, in an attempt to confuse the authorities.
The police are continuing their investigation into the incident.