Kira Road Police have arrested a notorious Northern Bypass thug, Gideon Matwa, following a tip-off from one of his recent victims, John Iraphasa, who bravely trailed him to his hideout.
Matwa, 35, a resident of Kazinga Zone in Kiwatule Parish, Nakawa Division, has been linked to over ten reported attacks along the Northern Bypass—particularly in the Kiwatule and Metroplex Naalya areas.
According to Iraphasa, the incident happened in Lower Kazinga where Matwa ambushed him near a fish pond.
“He was waiting for me at the gate. He attacked and robbed me of my smartphone before fleeing. I followed him until he jumped into a nearby stream,” Iraphasa told police.
Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson, Patrick Onyango, confirmed that Iraphasa quickly alerted police, who responded in coordination with Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) personnel stationed along the Northern Bypass.
“Matwa was apprehended in the stream. Our officers recovered two smartphones from him. During interrogation, he admitted to operating in Northern Bypass areas including Lower Kazinga and Metroplex Naalya,” Onyango said.
Matwa reportedly confessed to attacking over ten people in recent weeks, stealing smartphones, wallets, and breaking into houses and shops.
“I’m the one who punched a woman at Metroplex and stole her smartphone and a bag of money,” he admitted during questioning at Kira Road Police. “The phones I steal are high-end—these two alone are worth over Shs 1.5 million.”
Police also revealed that Matwa has a history of burglary and theft in Lower Kazinga. He is currently detained at Kiwatule police station and awaits arraignment in court. Onyango has urged other victims to come forward with any information that could aid in Matwa’s prosecution.
His arrest comes amid an intensified crackdown on urban crime by the Directorate of Crime Intelligence (DCI), following the robbery of a Scottish national who lost a smartphone worth Shs 7 million.
Using CCTV footage, police recently arrested another suspect, only identified as Kirengwe, who has since named six accomplices. Among those still being hunted by the DCI are suspects known as Kitto, Santosi, Ali, and Segawa.
What a brave citizen for tracking this thug down! I suppose the thug was no longer giving police their cut
Please, send him immediately toward the core of the earth. That would be one thug down and out of of the way. If he is released, community members should do the needful and make a fossil out of him.
So some white man had to be robbed for police to intensity arrests of thieves. This country is really in serious trouble.
Denis you have a point. It is the fault of this long serving government. They are creating more problems than they can ever solve. Now that this government could not manage the transmission and distribution of electricity and they did privatise the whole system many years ago, they have taken it back when Kampala international city have never had enough public flood lights on the public streets in urban and rural community residences. The modern cheap public security cameras are non-existant. They are heavily taxed for energy and data processing whether they are solar or electric. No wonder Gideon Matwa has a field day in stealing proper from his victims left, right and center for many years and counting!
One reckons this Uganda brutal Metro police needs to travel abroad for refresher courses in modern policing to appreciate the modern respects for human rights even for the criminal fratenity. Criminals understand the weakness that is going on in trying to manage town planning. Central government police seem to know only how to brutalise political opponents so that such opposition does not wake up administrative sleeping dogs!