A senior four student was beaten to death in the wee hours of Boxing Day in what police have described as a case of mob attack in Luweero Town Council.
Jeremiya Mwesigwa, 18, a student at Everest Secondary School in Luwero, was killed at around 3 am at Kasana Market Zone after allegedly being caught snatching mobile phones from revellers returning from Nimrod Beach along Kasiiso Road.
According to police, the teenager was chased down, caught, and fatally assaulted by an unidentified mob while residents were still in the Christmas holiday spirit.
“The victim was waylaid by an unknown group of people returning from celebrations and was accused of snatching mobile phones,” said ASP Sam Twiineamazima, the Savannah Regional Police spokesperson.
Police officers, including the regional scenes of crime team, homicide unit, and uniformed personnel responded to the scene to document evidence. Investigators photographed the crime scene, drew a sketch plan, and recovered key exhibits including a stone, a blood-stained stick used in the attack and two button mobile phones found in the deceased’s pocket.
The body was taken to Luwero Hospital Mortuary for a post-mortem while statements were recorded from witnesses and the victim’s mother, a resident of Kiwogozi LC1.
Police revealed that Mwesigwa was repoted to be a known habitual offender in the Kasana area who had recently been released from prison on robbery charges.
However, authorities strongly condemned the mob action, warning that such attacks endanger lives and undermine the rule of law.
“We urge the public to report crimes through official channels rather than taking the law into their own hands,” Mr Twiineamazima said.
Investigations are ongoing, with police tracing the owners of the recovered mobile phones as they work to identify and apprehend those responsible for the killing.
The incident has cast a shadow over the Christmas holiday period in Luweero, highlighting the persistent challenge of mob action in communities across Uganda.
Mwesigwa’s killing adds to Luweero’s alarming mob action statistics, with 22 people killed through vigilante violence in 2024 alone, according to the recently released Police Crime Report. The district recorded 86 murders in 2024, making it the second-deadliest district in the country.
Even more troubling, police records show that between 2019 and 2024, a staggering 127 people have been killed in mob attacks in Luweero, highlighting the deep-rooted nature of the problem. In November alone that year, the district saw seven cases of mob action, demonstrating the severity and frequency of vigilante killings.
The rampant mob justice in Luweero has been linked to a growing mistrust of law enforcement and frustration with the justice system. The causes of mob action are primarily linked to thefts, especially of motorcycles, which are rampant in the district. According to the Annual Crime Report, 138 motorcycles were stolen and 20 others were robbed in 2024 in Luweero, ranking the district in the sixth position with the highest motorcycle theft cases across the country.