Thief posing as passenger Arrested, Stolen Motorcycle Recovered in Nsangi Operation.

By Meddy Walusimbi Omuyiribi/ Tuesday, 18th August, 2026

KAMPALA — Police in Nsangi are holding a 31-year-old boda boda rider after recovering a motorcycle that was stolen at knifepoint in Kyengera in the early hours of Sunday.

The suspect has been identified as Mweluka Yusuf, a resident of Nsangi Central, Kyengera Town Council, Wakiso District.

According to Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Racheal Kawala, the arrest followed an intelligence-led operation on Sunday, August 17, at about 8:00pm in Nabbingo, Kiyanja Zone.

Police intercepted Yusuf at Savana Parking Yard where he had allegedly gone to collect the motorcycle, registration number UGG 521D, a red Bajaj Boxer, with plans to sell it in Ndeeba.

The motorcycle had been reported stolen just hours earlier.

Police say that at around 1:00am on August 17, the victim, also a boda boda rider from Nsangi Central, picked a passenger from Acacia in Kamwokya who said he was headed to Kyengera.

Upon reaching Total Petrol Station in Kyengera, the passenger asked to branch off toward Mugongo Zone. A few meters off the Kampala-Masaka Road, the rider was ordered to stop.

“As the passenger was disembarking, he grabbed the rider by the neck. Two other men armed with pangas then emerged from nearby bushes and threatened to cut him,” Kawala said in a statement.

The assailants rode off with the motorcycle and disappeared into the night.

Following a tip-off, police tracked the bike to Nabbingo and laid a trap. Yusuf was arrested as he attempted to pick it up.

“The motorcycle has since been recovered and is being held as an exhibit,” Kawala said. “Efforts are ongoing to trace and arrest the suspect’s accomplices and establish their involvement in other motorcycle robberies within the Kampala Metropolitan Area.”

Police have linked the gang to a series of similar robberies in Kyengera, Nsangi and Maya over the past weeks.

Kawala urged boda boda riders to be extra cautious, especially at night.
“We caution riders to exercise vigilance when carrying unfamiliar passengers, particularly those who request diversions from main roads to isolated areas,” she said.

The suspect is being detained at Nsangi Police Station as investigations continue.