By KT Reporter
Police in Luwero District have intercepted and impounded a vehicle long blacklisted for suspected involvement in cattle theft. The white Toyota Wish, registration number UAQ 768K, was stopped in Luwero on the evening of September 1, 2025, at around 6:00 pm, according to Savannah Region Police Spokesperson Sam Twiineamazima.
Twiineamazima said the car had been under surveillance for its alleged role in cattle rustling across Luwero and the neighboring districts of Nakaseke and Nakasongola. Ownership details of the vehicle have not yet been disclosed. Following the interception, the occupants reportedly cooperated with police and led officers to a location where two suspected stolen cows were recovered.
Scene of Crime Officers examined and documented the scene, and statements were recorded from witnesses. Police confirmed the arrest of two suspects but withheld their identities, citing ongoing investigations. The owners of the recovered cattle have also not yet been identified.
Twiineamazima noted that the suspects will be charged with cattle theft upon completion of investigations, stressing that the crime remains a major challenge in the Savannah Region. In mid-June 2025, police recovered 42 heads of cattle in just one week during intensified crackdowns.
That followed a June 14, 2025, Uganda Radio Network (URN) report indicating that police had already seized 38 cows and arrested 10 suspects linked to nighttime kraal raids in Wabinyonyi, Lwampanga, Migyeera sub-counties, and Nakasongola Town Council.
Subsequent operations on June 13, 2025, yielded further recoveries in Katitiza, Kansirye, Kakonde, Kitego, and Sasira villages in Wabinyonyi Sub-County. Among those arrested were Alex Kimeeze of Katitiza village, and Julius Wandera and Patrick Bebwa of Kansirye village, all of whom already had case files for cattle theft. The trio later appeared before the Nakasongola Magistrate’s Court.
Recovered cattle were transferred to Nakasongola Central Police Station (CPS), where owners were asked to present proof of ownership before reclaiming their animals. Local leaders expressed concern about the scale of the thefts. Patrick Lugonzi, the LCI Chairman of Namayonjo village and a victim, said he lost all 16 of his cattle, describing the raids as devastating for pastoralist communities.
He urged police to intensify patrols along feeder roads often used to transport stolen livestock to Kampala, Luwero, Masindi, and other districts for sale to traders and slaughterhouses. On June 19, 2025, Twiineamazima confirmed that an additional four cows were recovered from the home of suspect Julius Wandera in Kansirye village. Police data indicates that between September 2024 and March 2025, 492 cattle were reported stolen across the Savannah Region, of which 310 were recovered.
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