Police arrest 89 in Jinja after unidentified body discovered in Ripon Gardens

By Hakim Kanyere

Police in Jinja have arrested 89 people in an operation carried out in and around Jinja Town.

The operation follows the discovery of the body of an unidentified man that dumped at Ripon Gardens on Monday night. The man's head bore signs of being hacked by a sharp object and blood was oozing from his facial wounds. The victim seemed to be in his mid 20s.

After taking the body to Jinja Hospital mortuary, Police led by DPC Jinja Central Vincent Irama and OC Operations Pius Asiimwe carried out an operation in different areas presumed to be criminal hideouts.

The operation was carried out in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Some of these areas include Napier Market, Roko, fuel reserves, railway, Kazimingi among others.

89 suspected criminals including street kids were arrested in the swoop.

Several residents we spoke to applauded police for the arrests. They said that many of the criminals arrested had formerly been street kids who have become adults and started committing serious crimes.

However, the arrests did not go off without a hitch as street kids retaliated by vandalising several shops on Iganga road before running away. This forced police to mount another afternoon operation to track down some of these street kids.

Vincent Irama, the DPC Jinja Central said they will continue making these operations even at night to ensure that all wrong doers are arrested.

This is the first murder in Jinja town this year.