Residents from Jinja North in Jinja City have demanded immediate police action, following numerous attacks by hooded assailants whose only aim seems to be stealing mobile phones, but has resulted in the death of three residents in a space of just one week.
The first victim of the attack was Fred Wango, a resident of Wanyange cell, in the Northern division of Jinja city.
The assailants are suspected to have trailed Wango from a parking yard in Namulesa cell, before cornering him in a dark feeder road, located along the Jinja-Kamuli road.
They reportedly hit him severely on the head, causing unregulated blood flow in the brain, which is reported to have precipitated his death.
The second killing happened on December 11, 2025, when muggers attacked Lawrence Oketcho along Jinja-Kamuli road.
Oketcho, a clothing dealer known for supplying retailers within the Northern Division, is suspected to have been attacked while returning to his home in Bugembe ward, which is located about 1.5 km away from the crime scene.
Oketcho is reported to have been attacked at around 8:30pm, sustained serious injuries in the stomach area, which prompted passersby to rush him to a nearby clinic, only to be pronounced dead an hour later.
The third victim, Yusuf Mukasa, was killed on Sunday night (December 14) along the railway line connecting to his home in Wanyange Lake cell.
Yusuf Mukasa, a motor vehicle spare parts dealer in Jinja City’s central business district, was also attacked on his way from work.
Mukasa is also suspected to have been hit with a blunt object on the head, and his attackers allegedly fled after confirming that he was already dead.
One of the residents who spoke on condition of anonymity said that two youths wearing dark hooded clothing intercepted Mukasa and hit him on the head before fleeing about five minutes later.
The 7:30pm attack triggered the attention of neighbouring residents, but his pulse were already unresponsive, prompting them to contact police to intervene.
Mukasa’s body was taken to Jinja regional referral hospital mortuary for postmortem.
The killings have left residents in panic, with many calling for police intervention to contain what they have described as a new wave of criminality ahead of the festive season.
Ms Amina Aliba, a resident of Budhumbuli cell said the nature of these killings is the same, with the attackers only taking mobile phones of their victims.
According to her, police should study this pattern and avail the public with a conclusive report pertaining these killings, which will reduce on the tensions in the communities.
Another resident, Ms Esther Menya, said police should redeploy the daily foot patrol method in black spots, which they used to break up machete-wielding gangs in the past two years.
Menya says that, this method proved effective and attracted support from village L.C.1s, whose contribution beefed up police manpower, which scared away criminal-minded elements.
Mr Ayub Wabika, the mayor of Northern division said such crimes are largely instigated by unruly youths, who were once street children and they are suspected to be attacking people over unknown reasons.
Mr Wabika said concerns about the new wave of attacks were earlier raised during a security committee meeting and he is hopeful of ongoing efforts to contain them.
Meanwhile, the Kiira regional police spokesperson, James Mubi confirmed the three deaths, noting that their intelligence teams have been dispatched to extensively investigate the attacks.