Three Firearms Linked to Nearly 90 Criminal Incidents in Uganda

Security agencies in Uganda have traced three firearms to a significant number of criminal activities, impacting numerous districts between 2024 and 2026. These weapons, one each from a private security organization (UGPSO 564211739 15136), the Uganda Police (UG POL 562735135369), and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF 48014855), have been implicated in 88 separate cases.

The Police Forensic Report 2025 indicates that these firearms, along with their ammunition, were utilized in aggravated robberies and murders reported in areas such as Mukono, Wakiso, Kasangati, Kira, Wandegeya, Katwe, Iganga, and Mbale. Through advanced forensic techniques like the Integrated Ballistic Identification System (IBIS), investigators were able to link the recovered weapons to multiple crime scenes.

According to ACP Andrew Mubiru, the acting director of Forensic Services, scientific comparisons of bullets and cartridge cases confirmed the repeated use of specific firearms. The private security gun was involved in incidents in Mutugga, Mukono, and Kira, while the police firearm was linked to shootings in Kira Road, Old Mulago, and Kira Division. The UPDF gun was particularly associated with 13 murders and robbery incidents in the Kampala Metropolitan area, but also appeared in crimes in Iganga, Mbalala, and Kiwatule.

This surge in firearm-related crime is partly attributed to the influx of illegal weapons from neighboring countries like South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which have experienced prolonged conflict. These unsecured firearms often fuel criminal networks within Ugandan urban centers.

Efforts to control illicit firearms are ongoing, with a historical push by President Museveni since 2018 to fingerprint all guns. While significant progress has been made in fingerprinting police and prison service firearms, and partially with private security, the military’s fingerprinting exercise has faced delays, with a renewed directive in 2023 for army guns to be included. The police’s current collaboration with private security organizations is seen as a positive step towards enhanced security.

Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/the-3-guns-used-in-88-shootings-5451332