An angry mob in Dokolo District Wednesday lynched a man who allegedly escaped from police custody two months ago. The victim was among the 11 suspects who escaped from Dokolo Central Police Station in February.
Mr Patrick Jimmy Okema, the North Kyoga regional police spokesperson, told the Monitor that Innocent Owinyi was caught stealing a goat and chicken in Oyiregolo Village, Dokolo.
He said Owinyi sustained serious injuries after he was beaten up and he was pronounced dead on arrival at Kangai Health Centre III.
“A case of murder by the mob was registered, crime scene was visited, statements recorded and the body was conveyed to Dokolo Health IV where a postmortem was conducted and handed over to the relatives for burial,” he said.
Mr Okema said no arrests have been made but investigations are ongoing.
“I appeal to members of the public to once again desist from an act of taking the law into their hands,” he added.
Last year, police registered more cases of mob action.
The police annual crime report of 2022 indicates that a total of 953 cases of murder by mob action were reported to police in 2022 compared to 759 cases reported in 2021.
About 978 persons were lynched in 2022 of whom, 943 were male adults, 25 were female adults, nine were male juveniles and one was a female juvenile. Albertine region registered the highest number of cases of murder by mob action in 2022 (82 cases), followed by Kampala Metropolitan North with 72 cases, West Nile with 71 cases, Kampala Metropolitan Police South with 60 cases and Busoga East with 58 cases.
