Arua Police, UPDF on Spot for Alleged Night Invasion of a Home to Steal Mercury

ARUA. A family in Buraa cell, Komite ward in Ayivu Division of Arua city is currently living in fear after an alleged invasion of their home by police and UPDF officers on Monday night at about 12:00am last week.

Peter Eluti, a family member, narrated that the armed security personnel who traveled in different numberless vehicles including a suspected police patrol pick-up stormed their home on the fateful night and took close to two hours trying to excavate mercury and uranium his late father, John Eriaga Nikia, a former medical officer, used for earthing their now visibly old house in the 1970s.

“That night, those people came not as civilians but as security officers. When they arrived, they woke us up from sleep and their interest was on us, the five men sleeping in different rooms. When we came out, I asked why they had come to our home in the night? They replied that they are police officers, but I wondered which police officers could come in the UPDF uniform and in civilian to disturb their sleep at night,” Eluti said.

“These people deployed one armed officer at the main road entrance to our home, the other near our toilet and another near the kitchen. Three of the armed men were protecting the area being excavated. Out of the three, two were dressed in civilian clothes while the four who were digging the spot dressed in army (UPDF) uniform but their shoes weren’t that of the soldiers. These people came along with the tools they used to dig the spot of the earthing,” Eluti explained.

Eluti said after witnessing the deployment, he took two steps backwards and started making an alarm which immediately attracted the attention of the armed men who immediately put him at gunpoint and ordered him to sit down.

“After silencing me, these people started excavating the area for almost two hours. They dug the place almost two meters deep, and removed the earthing rod with a black wire coming from the wall and placed it on the veranda. They continued excavating and got tired. They started talking amongst themselves that they had reached a concrete slab. One of them then said in Luganda that those things (minerals) now need an excavator. They later told us that tomorrow they are going to bring an excavator to remove these things,” Eluti remarked.

He said from there, the men left, giving chance to the members of the village to immediately gather and advised him to report the matter to the relevant authorities.

Eluti observed that they are currently living in fear following the invasion by the armed men.

“I’m not happy about the invasion of our home by the armed men at night. The mercury and the uranium these people want to forcefully grab was for our father. He didn’t get it from the government nor did he steal it. Why should these people now come to forcefully try to pick away these minerals without asking us the family members?” Eluti asked.

Similarly, Emily Adiru, the daughter of Late Eriaga, said their effort to open a case against the men in uniform who invaded their home proved futile as the police officers at Ayivu Division headquarters declined to register the matter, saying it was beyond them.

“When I was informed about this incident in the morning, I rushed home and found these people had dug a hole exactly where the earthing for electricity was planted by my father some years back. I took pictures of the hole dug and I tried asking the people around including some boda bodas at the stage next to our home. They told me that there were vehicles that came at midnight, found them playing pool at the center and there were some two soldiers who went there and gathered them together and locked them in the house; one at the pool side and then the other was where they were drinking,” Adiru said.

“That the men had removed the number plates of the vehicles. One looked like a police vehicle and the other one looked like a UPDF vehicle. That means, it was kind of an organized thing. I saw life was threatened!” Adiru said.

She observed that immediately she called for the village chairperson and decided to leave her brothers with the LC as she rushed to the police station at Onduparaka.

“When I reached Onduparaka police station, the police lady I found there told me that she couldn’t register this case because it was above her. She made a call to the central police station and in the consultation, she told me that the RPC had called me to go to the office to meet him over this issue. So, when I reached there, the RPC told me he is not aware of what is taking place but he is going to investigate,” Adiru said.

Unfortunately, she said the RPC was traveling that day. “He asked that I should come back on Friday. Then I said how can the RPC take this matter very simple like this; soldiers coming to a private property, threatening the people with guns and he is saying he is traveling, no! I can’t stop there,” Adiru further explained.

She said when she left the RPC’s office, she called the area MP, John Lematia who immediately told her that he was going to send some people to come and investigate the matter.

“He called the CISO and the CISO contacted the OC Police of Onduparaka who all came on ground and witnessed what happened,” Adiru, the estate administrator of the late John Eriaga Nikia said.

She observed that the target on the installation at home is dated back to 2019 and before the incident on the fateful night, two men are said to have come during the day and slaughtered a white cock at the earthing site, believed to be for purposes of cleansing the area ahead of the mission in the night. 

But when asked about the matter, Poly Ongom, the Assistant RCC in charge of Ayivu Division, said he was later told that there was an operation that took place in the said home but he wasn’t officially notified before and as a result, he has no details about which people conducted the operation that night.

Meanwhile from Saturday, September 28, 2024, police couldn’t respond to the concern, saying they are still investigating the matter.

When contacted, Maj. Peter Mugisa, the UPDF 4^th Division Public Relations Officer, said: “We are not aware of any operation that was conducted in that area by our forces. If indeed there were armed personnel who assaulted that family, then those must be criminals disguised as security officials. 409 Brigade based at Bondo barracks has dispatched intelligence officials to go on ground to investigate facts and if we find out that there were indeed some of our own personnel involved in that criminal act, they will be held capable and face Court Martial.”

“Otherwise, we request the family of Ms Emily to cooperate with our intelligence officers to get the whole truth so that we can apprehend the culprits,” Mugisa appealed.