IBANDA
Another security officer has been brutally killed in Ibanda District, just four months after the tragic murder of Police Constable Suleiman Chemonges in April 2025.
Sgt. Michael Anguru, a native of Katakwi District, was stoned to death by unknown assailants and his body dumped in a trench after a bar confrontation on September 1. The deceased was a serving UPDF officer attached to Bihanga Army Barracks in Kanyarugiri Town Council, Ibanda North County.
“It’s unfortunate that we lost the life of our gallant soldier,” said Ibanda Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Godfrey Mbetegyerize. “From the evidence we have, the assailants trailed him from the bar along Mpira Street and stoned him to death.”
Sgt. Anguru’s killing has reignited concerns over a spate of violent attacks in Ibanda District, particularly targeting security officers, raising fears that the district is becoming a death spot for men and women in uniform.
In April this year, Constable Chemonges, attached to Bisheshe Police Station, was lynched by a mob during the burial of Lazaro Kahangire in Kyembogo Cell, Karangara Ward, Bisheshe Division.
“The scars are still fresh, and Anguru’s brutal murder is nothing but an insult to the already bleeding wound,” said a UPDF officer at Bihanga Barracks, who requested anonymity.
Police deployed sniffer dogs at the crime scene, leading to the arrest of two suspects, a man and a woman who were reportedly with Sgt. Anguru at the bar shortly before his death. Both are residents of the area.
Authorities are also searching for a third suspect, said to be a close friend of the deceased and a fellow soldier. According to investigators, Sgt. Anguru often spent time with him whenever he visited Ibanda.
“We want him to come forward and testify. We also urge the public to be vigilant with their lives because life has no spare parts,” RDC Mbetegyerize added.
This wave of violent attacks against security officers has raised alarms in the district, calling for urgent government interventions against the perpetrators.
