Police in Luwero District have launched investigations into the killing of an 18-year-old student who was allegedly lynched by a mob over suspected mobile phone theft. The deceased has been identified as Jeremiya Mwesigwa, a student at Everest College, Luwero, and a resident of Kiwogozi Zone, Luwero Town Council.
According to police, Mwesigwa was allegedly waylaid by a group of revelers returning from Nimrod Beach along Kasiiso Road, who accused him of snatching mobile phones. He was reportedly chased, captured, and fatally assaulted by an unidentified mob. The Savannah Region Police Spokesperson, Sam Twiineamazima, said preliminary investigations indicate that the incident occurred at around 3:00 a.m. on Friday at Kasana Market Zone in Luwero Town Council.
Upon receiving the report, police officers—including the Regional Scenes of Crime team, homicide detectives, and uniformed personnel—responded promptly to secure and document the scene. Twiineamazima said the crime scene was photographed, a sketch plan drawn, and key exhibits recovered. These included a stone, a bloodstained stick believed to have been used in the assault, and two button mobile phones found in the deceased’s pocket. Police also recorded statements from witnesses and from the deceased’s mother.
The body was later conveyed to Luwero General Hospital mortuary for a postmortem examination. In the same statement, police noted that it is alleged Mwesigwa was a known habitual offender in the Kasana area and had recently been released from prison on robbery-related charges. However, police strongly condemned mob justice, stressing that it endangers lives and undermines the rule of law.
Twiineamazima urged members of the public to report suspected criminal activity through lawful channels and said police are tracing the owners of the recovered mobile phones as investigations continue. Mob justice remains a major concern in Luwero District. On November 16, 2024, Uganda Radio Network (URN) reported that police had recorded seven mob justice deaths within one month in the district. Highlighting the trend, Twiineamazima cited an incident in Kaswa Village, Katikamu Sub-county, where an angry mob killed a suspected thief and set his body ablaze, rendering it unrecognizable.
Preliminary findings showed that police were alerted after the suspect had already been killed. The remains were later taken to Luwero Hospital for an autopsy. That incident marked the seventh mob-related killing in the district within a single month. In another case in September 2024, mob violence in Lunyolya Village claimed the life of Abbey Nyanzi (22). Nyanzi and his brother, Yasin Kange (24), were accused of stealing chickens. After the stolen birds were identified as the brothers passed through Nabugolo Town, a mob formed, detained Kange, and pursued Nyanzi when he attempted to flee.
Kange was beaten and their motorcycle set ablaze, while Nyanzi was later caught, assaulted, and burned to death. Similarly, in February 2024, police fired live bullets to disperse a group of boda boda riders attempting to lynch a suspected motorcycle thief in Luwero Town Council. The riders had apprehended one suspect, William Ogema, and began assaulting him, while another suspect, identified only as Vincent, escaped. According to the 2023 Police Crime Report, at least 35 people were killed in mob-related incidents in Luwero, up from 18 in 2022, making the district the worst affected nationwide by mob justice.
In previous interviews, Erasto Kibirango, the Luwero District LC V Chairperson, expressed frustration over what he described as slow police interventions and delayed court processes, particularly in cases involving livestock theft.The killing of Mwesigwa adds to the district’s grim statistics. Police data indicate that 22 people were killed through vigilante violence in 2024 alone, while the 2024 Police Crime Report shows that Luwero recorded 86 murders, ranking it as the second-deadliest district in the country.
Long-term trends show that 127 people were killed in mob attacks between 2019 and 2024, with seven cases recorded in November 2024 alone. Police and local leaders attribute the persistence of mob justice largely to public mistrust of law enforcement and frustration with the justice system, challenges they say must be urgently addressed to stem the violence.
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