Police in Koboko District have identified two of the three men who were brutally killed and their vehicle torched by a mob in Abuku Sub-county on Friday, November 21, in what residents say was retaliation for rampant cattle theft in the area. Koboko Hospital is still holding one of the bodies, which remains unclaimed.
The victims, Habibu Suleiman from Maracha, Andama Goffin, 23, from Ceveni in Terego, and a third unidentified man, were travelling in a Toyota Hiace (commonly known as a Drone) when they were attacked in Diobe Village, Metino Parish. The vehicle was later set ablaze by unidentified assailants.
According to residents, the mob suspected the trio of involvement in a series of livestock thefts that have left communities frustrated and fearful.
Residents speak out
Swadik Toko, a resident of Manibe Village, said the incident unfolded around 2am.
‘We woke up on Friday morning to find three people who were killed for stealing cows; the vehicle they were travelling in was also set ablaze. Immediately this issue reached police and they picked the bodies to Koboko mortuary,’ he said.
Toko added that residents have endured months of night-time cattle raids carried out using vehicles, describing the situation as unbearable.
‘We have lost here more than 200 herds of cattle to this high level of theft using cars. Every week they raid cattle; this is what made the community annoyed,’ he said.
Another resident told Monitor that their community has lost between 300 and 400 cows in recent months.
‘These people have finished all the animals in the area. We tried to inform the top authorities but we weren’t helped. It is giving us pain. We reached here and found these people killed and three cows recovered in their car,’ the resident said.
Police confirmed that three cattle suspected to have been stolen were recovered from the vehicle before it was torched. Officers transported the bodies to Koboko Hospital mortuary and recovered the wreckage of the burnt car, registration number UA 186BP.
Meanwhile, Koboko Hospital administrator, Abiriga Augson Alionzi, said they received the three bodies on Friday.
‘Yesterday we received three bodies. One was claimed by the relatives yesterday and taken to Arua, one was also claimed on Saturday evening, and one is still lying in the mortuary. We have treated the body and will wait for four days; when no one shows up, the municipality will bury,’ he said.
Among the deceased is Andama Goffin, whose father, Catechist Thomas Aliga, described him as his firstborn.
‘The deceased is my firstborn. I paid for his school up to 2023 when he dropped out. Since then, I didn’t see him until yesterday when I heard he was killed. I’m told he used to stay with someone called Malish in Yumbe,’ he said.
Aliga added that his wife, Goffin’s mother, died by suicide in October 2025.
‘I lost the mother last month. She just committed suicide. I am now confused. I want to pick the body and take it for burial,’ he said.
Police investigating murder by mob
West Nile Regional Police spokesperson Josephine Angucia said officers are treating the incident as a case of murder by mob and arson.
‘The officers examined the scene of crime and recovered exhibits of the three cows and a national ID for one of the deceased. Investigations are going on. Some witnesses in the area suspect that these three people could have been killed on suspicion of being cattle thieves,’ she said.
By the time of filing this story, no arrests had been made, and one body was still unclaimed at Koboko Hospital mortuary.