Officer gunned down as suspected warriors attack police detach in Kotido
A police officer has been shot dead after a group of suspected rustlers attached an Anti Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) detach in Karamoja.
The incident happened on Friday event at around 8pm when suspect Jie warriors attacked Payangara STU detach in Kotido district.
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"PC No 49256 Aku Richard aged 32, was shot and killed instantly. He was shot at in front of his uniport," Michael Longole, the Karamoja Regional Police spokesperson said.
He noted that on getting information, an Armed Personnel Carrier(APC) was dispatched to the scene but by the time of arrival, the warriors had fled .
"The body is being transported to Kotido HC IV for postmortem."
Of recent, raids by warriors had greatly reduced in Karamoja region since President Museveni camped in the area for a week last month.
Before Museveni camped in the area, the rustlers had changed raid tactics in a network that involves criminals with guns, bows and arrows, stick-squads that drive the cows, and corroborators (spy network) who wreaked havoc leaving a trail of death, rape, and destruction and threatening the prevailing peace and security in the region.
The president had earlier warned that soon, he would make the cattle rustlers in Karamoja ‘lose appetite’ for the gun.
“We had removed the fifth division for training and they took advantage of that. But now we have brought it back. It will help make the rustlers lose appetite for the gun,” he said in May 2022 while passing out 2610 Local Defence Unit Personnel who had completed training at the Labwordwong Training School in Agago district.
The president also gave out goats for rearing to locals to ensure they desist from engaging in cattle rustling but rear the animals for their benefit.
Since then, the attacks and cattle theft had greatly reduced in the area with minimal attacks.
However, today's attack points to the need for more efforts to ensure Karamoja is rid of the warriors who have become a menace to both security and the members of the public.
