The police have in custody six people for terrorizing poultry farmers and stealing their chickens in the areas of Njeru and Ssezibwa.
The suspects have been identified as Lubega Muzafaru, 24, from Mbiko Njeru; Makubuya Ivan, 24, from Mbiko; Kabugho Bumari, 26, from Luwero; Isabirye Ayub, 33, a businessman from Jinja City; Friday Israel, aged 30, from Bugembe; and Hax Martin, 37, from Busia.
They were intercepted at the Nile Bridge on September 27, 2023, at around 4:30 a.m. after a tip-off by a group of boda boda riders who saw a vehicle registration number UAM 224F with stolen chicken.
The suspects had slaughtered 100 chickens and had 99 live birds.
These were recovered and handed back to the owner, Paul Muketo, a poultry farmer in Njeru, while the slaughtered birds were disposed of.
Police Spokesman Fred Enanga while addressing the media in Kampala on Monday encouraged poultry farmers to secure their farms in order to guard against such losses.
“We do encourage all poultry farmers to secure their farms in the most practicable manner by targeting and hardening their poultry houses, the deployment of local guards and watchers, better lighting and alarm systems, and the use of mobile phone-integrated CCTV cameras. In addition, we have tasked our integrated mobile patrol teams to continue being vigilant and checking suspicious vehicles that are used in the transportation of stolen chicken,” Enanga said.
The suspects are to be charged with breaking the law, conspiracy, and theft of chicken.
