Something must kill a man. And for Yasiin Mayanja, it was his own "long hand" that itched on the wrong day.
Mayanja, 25, exhausted his 40 days and the nines of his cat when he got to Katooke A village in Nansana Municipality where he was lynched and set on fire by an angry mob.
Mayanja, a resident of Katooke, was allegedly caught breaking into a house while an unidentified accomplice reportedly kept watch outside.
The homeowner noticed the intrusion via a security camera system and immediately alerted neighbours.
“I saw someone inside my house through the camera and quickly called neighbours for help,” he said.
Residents quickly gathered and apprehended Mayanja, but the situation escalated violently as the mob beat him before setting him ablaze.
Police officers from Katooke Police Station arrived at the scene but found the suspect had already died.
“They had already set him on fire by the time we arrived. We tried to put out the flames, but it was too late,” a police officer said.
Local leaders, including Kalungi Mathew Mutaisa, Ssali Keith Isaac, and Umar Ndawula, condemned the incident, stressing that even suspected criminals must be handed over to law enforcement rather than subjected to mob violence.
The Officer in Charge (OC) of Katooke Police Station reinforced this message, urging residents to avoid taking the law into their own hands and to strengthen home security measures.
Racheal Kawala, spokesperson for Kampala Metropolitan Police, confirmed that investigations are ongoing and stressed that mob justice is a crime.
“We strongly condemn mob justice. We urge members of the public to work with police and avoid taking the law into their own hands,” she said. Police are now working to identify and arrest those involved in the killing.
The body of Mayanja was subsequently collected and transported by authorities, as investigations continue into the full circumstances of the incident.