Police Officers Arrested Over UGX 2M Bribe
Two Police officers attached to Lira Central Police Station have been arrested for attempting to extort two million shillings.
The two officers have been identified as AIP Moses Odongo (Community Liaison Department), and detective constable Julius Opira.
The suspects were caught red-handed with 400,000 shillings they had received from their victim.
The victim had tipped off Police that they were being forced to pay 2 million shillings to have their matter handled quickly.
The officers were arrested by a team of police personnel from Special Investigation Unit on Thursday morning.
SP Francis Olugu, the deputy commandant SIU based in Kireka in Kampala, headed the operation.
Olugu said that the suspects had coerced their victim to part with 2 million shillings. The victim agreed to pay the officers in installments and on Wednesday gave them 700, 000 shillings. The officers were arrested as they received the second installment of 400, 000 shillings on Thursday.
Olugu declined to reveal more than the fact that the victim works for a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Kole district.
Olugu said the suspects would be transferred to Kampala to answer to charges of abuse of office and corruption. He said that the suspects had been tracked and investigated under GEF 336/2013.
But the officers denied all charges.
The arrest of the officers is the second at Lira CPS. Early this year Richard Ojok (Electoral and Media Department) was suspended over alleged abuse of office.
They should face justice but not blindfolding people.