Two guns have been recovered following a three-week intensive crackdown by a joint security taskforce in Aswa West police region targeting a recent spate of armed robberies and killings in Gulu City, Gulu and Omoro districts.
The Monitor has established that the operation, conducted by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, police and the Internal Security Organisation, also resulted in the arrest of eight suspects.
According to the UPDF, the intelligence-led operation covered Gulu City and the districts of Nwoya, Omoro, and Gulu.
In a weekend statement, the army released details of six suspects, all arrested from Nwoya district, but withheld the identities of two others, citing ongoing operations.
The identified suspects include Ronald Bob Komakech and Yassin Okot, both arrested from Got-apwoyo village, Got-apwoyo Sub County, and Vincent Opiru and Stephen Ayella from Koyo village in Purongo Sub County. Others are Solomon Ojok, a resident of Ayugi Village, Purongo Sub County, and Raymond Komakech, a resident of Kiba East, Purongo Town Council in Nwoya district.
The joint operation also recovered two sub-machine gun rifles with 30 rounds of ammunition, alongside other military hardware.
Capt David Kamya, the UPDF 4th Division public information officer, said the operation ‘was in response to escalating armed criminal activities that have adversely affected security and local communities in the region.’
The suspects now face questioning and charges including murder, attempted murder, possession of government stores, aggravated robbery, and theft of firearms from security personnel and institutions.
This newspaper learnt that Daniel Komakech, one of the suspects, succumbed to injuries after being shot while attempting to disarm a security officer on June 18 in Purongo.
‘Komakech was rushed to the UPDF 4th Division army hospital in Gulu City for treatment but died. He attempted to grab a gun from one of our officers and that prompted the use of reasonable force against him,’ a source within security circles privy to the development said.
The suspects and recovered weapons have been linked to poaching inside Murchison Falls National Park, which neighbours Purongo Town Council, Purongo and Got-apwoyo sub counties, after wildlife trophies were reportedly found in their possession.
They are also linked to recent killings, including the shooting of a security guard in Gulu City, a businessman in Awach Town Council, and a mobile money agent in Koch-ongako Trading Centre in Omoro district.
Initially, the army linked the attackers to armed cartels operating across Lango, West Nile and Acholi sub-regions.
The gun grabbed from a security guard at LT Energy Petrol Station in Laliya Trading Centre, Kasubi Ward, Gulu City, is yet to be recovered, though suspects captured on CCTV are still at large.
The fuel station attack left Ronald Obedi, a guard attached to Samurai Security Services, dead when three masked assailants stormed LT Energy Limited on May 5.
Ten days later, businessman Wilfred Ojok was shot dead by armed robbers at Paromo cell, Paduny parish, Awach Town Council on May 16. Ojok was shot at about 9:00 PM while attending the shop on behalf of his father, Silas Komakech.
In Omoro district, one person was killed and four others injured in four separate armed robbery incidents since last May.
On May 11, during heavy rain, assailants raided Lalogi police station at about 8:30 PM and broke into the unit of 50-year-old officer Beatrice Awor attached to Lalogi sub-county police station.
‘The assailants managed to escape with gun No. UG POL 48014235-15938 with 30 rounds of ammunition. A case of aggravated robbery was entered at Lalogi police station vide Sd ref: 14/11/05/2026 and now Omoro CRB 320/2026. Suspects unknown, the hunt is on to recover the gun,’ a police statement said.
The assailants reportedly attacked Awor in her house, strangled and assaulted her before fleeing with her rifle. Police said her uniport was open and she was seated on a mat when the attackers overpowered her.
On May 27, a businessman was robbed at gunpoint in Lalogi Town Council, less than 200 metres from Lalogi police station. The robbers made off with more than Shs10 million. Four days later, food vendor Gloria Ajok, who operates at Lacor Centre in For-God parish, Gulu City, was robbed of her handbag when three gunmen sprayed bullets at her and a boda boda rider in Rom cell, Abuga parish, Abuga sub-county, Omoro district. The rider survived with serious injuries after a bullet pierced his stomach at about 10:00 PM.
In Gulu, security authorities said immobility is hampering efforts to fight the gun crime wave.
Mr Peter Banya, Gulu City deputy Resident City Commissioner for Pece-Laroo Division, told the Monitor that while joint UPDF and police operations have kicked off, lack of transport is jeopardising the efforts.
‘The challenge that we have in the city is that the police have a problem with mobility. They don’t have transport, and that has affected their operations so much to the extent that sometimes we feel maybe that is the reason why the violence has increased, because there’s a gap in mobility of the police,’ Mr Banya stated.
Beyond mobility, Banya said lack of community cooperation is slowing investigations.
‘There’s a joint operation between the UPDF and Uganda police handling some of these incidents, but it’s taking a lot of time because our other challenge is that the local people are not speaking; someone sees somebody somewhere doing something, but they fear coming out and revealing to us for fear of reprisal,’ Banya noted.