By KT Reporter
Police in West Nile are investigating two separate violent incidents that left one person dead and another seriously injured, raising renewed concern over mob justice and rising insecurity during the festive season. In Adjumani District, a 25-year-old man was beaten to death by a mob in Unna Central Village, Pachara Sub-county, on Christmas Eve, after residents accused him of theft.
The deceased has been identified as Timothy Itraru, a peasant farmer and resident of the same village. According to police, the incident occurred on the night of December 24, 2025, when Itraru and two others allegedly attempted to steal chickens from a nearby homestead. The suspects were intercepted after the owner raised an alarm.
The North West Nile Regional Police Spokesperson, Collins Asea, said the alarm drew a mob that descended on the suspects. “Two suspects were rescued by police and taken to Adjumani Police Station for investigation, while the third, the deceased, was severely assaulted and could not be detained. He was later taken to Adjumani Hospital for treatment,” Asea said.
Police say Itraru succumbed to his injuries on the night of December 25, a development that prompted detectives to launch investigations into murder by mob under file reference ADJ CRB 749/2025. A postmortem was conducted before the body was released to relatives for burial.
Asea condemned the incident, noting that mob justice continues to undermine the rule of law and often results in loss of life over minor offences. Meanwhile, in Yumbe District, police are hunting for suspects involved in an aggravated robbery that left an 18-year-old man injured in the early hours of December 26, 2025.
The victim, Guma Anywari, a peasant farmer from Odiga Cell, Yumbe Town Council, was attacked shortly after arriving from Kampala aboard a Friendship Bus. Police report that Guma was ambushed along Nile Street by a group of about 15 armed men wielding pangas and sticks, who robbed him of a laptop, smartphones, identification documents, ATM cards, and other personal items.
Asea said the victim raised an alarm, attracting a private security guard deployed at a nearby business. “When the suspects noticed the guard, they began stoning him and brandishing pangas. The guard fired one bullet, injuring one suspect, and the group fled, abandoning a panga,” Asea said.
The victim sustained injuries and was rushed to Yumbe Regional Referral Hospital, while police recovered the weapon used in the attack and the firearm discharged by the guard for examination. Police say the two incidents highlight growing security challenges during the festive season and have renewed calls for communities to avoid taking the law into their own hands.
Asea urged residents to report suspected criminal activity to authorities instead of resorting to mob action, warning that such violence often escalates into fatal outcomes.
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