Police in Buwunga sub-county, Bugiri district, are investigating a motorcycle theft gang leader after one of the locals in the area allegedly pinned two suspects to be behind the gruesome murder of the boda boda riders and the robbery of motorcycles in the area, based on a dream.

The police confirmed they had detained the suspects, but later gave bond to the two suspects whose names were not disclosed, saying there was no serious evidence to pin them since the accuser claimed that one of the victims killed revealed to them the suspected killers in a dream.

According to the police, the suspects will remain anonymous to the public.  They were however, put under police custody to prevent more deaths that could result in mob justice.

“Two people were arrested, but we later gave them bond because the circumstances under which the locals were alleging to have identified them are unclear. So, they have been kept in safe custody for some time since someone said they dreamed the deceased was showing them that one of the suspects killed him, and that was inconclusive. How do we confirm the dream? But since people were becoming a little hostile, the suspects were detained on that ground because we wanted to prevent more deaths,” the police noted.

The police’s argument is essentially that the suspects being accused by the locals are legally innocent because their suspicion is based on the likelihood of a dream. The police said they cannot present the case in court since the evidence is lacking.

“Under normal circumstances, you can’t stand in court and say somebody dreamed. You can’t produce the suspects in court based on that, but the hunt is still on,” the police said.

However, police revealed that the hunt for suspected criminals behind the gruesome murder of riders and robbery of motorcycles is still ongoing.

According to locals, one of the suspects is a gang leader who has been spearheading the gruesome murder of over 15 boda boda riders in a period between May 2023 and January 2024. The same clique has inflicted critical head injuries on riders from December 2023 to February 2024, with over 35 motorcycles lost to the robbers in the same period.

However, the territorial police in Busoga East said that, in the whole of Bugiri district, only three reported murder cases were registered in a period from May 2023 to date, as opposed to over 15 cases mentioned by locals in Buwunga. The police added that the reported injury cases were nine, all in the same time frame.

According to the police, the reported stolen motorcycles, either when hired, packed, by breaking into a house, or by attacking boda boda riders in the same period between May 2023 and February 2024, stand at 27. The regional police further dismissed and distanced themselves from the most recent claims by locals of the suspects being arrested after one was found riding a stolen motorcycle, and Joshia Sanyu, a mechanic also dealing in the sale of motorcycle spare parts in Bugoola and Buwunga, presented fabricated documents to the police in Buwunga.

The police said that pinning the suspects based on a dream cannot be substantiated.

Locals recently pinned Sanyu, a 27-year-old born in Magoola village, Buwunga sub-county in Bugiri district, and currently a resident of Busowa town council, as the gang leader that is masterminding cross-border motorcycle robbery in the district. He is said to have two homes and garages in Busowa town council and Buwunga, which they allegedly say he has been using for the criminal acts.

The suspected notorious mastermind of boda boda thefts in question is said to have, in several incidents, beaten the security system and run out of the country to Kenya to avoid arrests when reported by locals to the police. However, the preliminary information indicates that Sanyu was detained on Saturday, February 17, 2024, at one of the police stations in Buwunga, which information the police declined to comment on.

Boda boda riders in Uganda have encountered several challenges, with the gruesome murder of the riders and robbery of their motorcycles being at the top of the list. This has become a trend that has raised public concern countrywide as it has led to many deaths, some sustaining serious injuries resulting from being beaten on the head with metal bars, suffering critical head damages that make them end up in hospitals, and thousands of motorcycles stolen.