A prominent businessman in Hoima city identified as Simon Tugumisiriza is in custody alongside seven other suspects at Hoima city central police station over alleged theft of iron bars.
Tugumisiriza reportedly connived with seven other suspects whose names have since been concealed by security for fear of jeopardizing investigations to steal the iron bars from a shillings 500 million Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development Program-USMID Project Bridge which is under construction in Bujumbura East Cell Hoima West Division, Hoima City.
They were arrested on Friday evening.
They were reportedly arrested after a whistle blower alerted the office of the Hoima Resident city commissioner-RCC Badru Mugabe about the theft of the iron bars from the 500 million shilling bridge that was undergoing construction in Bujumbura East cell.
Security immediately swung into action and started following up the matter.
The RCC told Uganda Radio Network on Saturday that they arrested the suspects with the help of the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) security cameras installed on various streets of Hoima city that tracked the thieves up to a construction site belonging to Tugumisiriza that is located along Wright road in Hoima city.
According to Mugabe, the CCTV footage showed the thugs stealing the iron bars from the bridge construction site in Bujumbura and onwards to Tugumisiriza’s construction site on Wright road.
He says upon reaching Tugumisiriza’s house construction site on, they recovered several iron bars that were being used in the construction of the government bridge in Bujumbura.
They reportedly arrested him and seven others and whisked them to Hoima city central police station where they are being detained.
Mugabe has appealed to members of the public to always be vigilant by providing vital information about thefts of building materials from government projects.
He says currently they are hunting for a vehicle that has been ferrying the suspected stolen iron bars from the bridge construction site to wright road where Tugumisiriza is constructing his house.
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