Five Ugandan police freed after brief detention in Kenya

Scrap metal that Ugandan police officers were pursuing before they were arrested by Kenyan police officers at Weighbridge in Busia on Friday night. [Ignatius Odanga]

Five Ugandan police officers who crossed into Kenya ‘unknowingly’ with firearms have been set free.

The officers, according to Busia County Police Commander John Nyoike, were pursuing a truck that was carrying scrap metal on Friday night.

The truck driver got into the country through the porous border in Alupe, Teso South constituency. The driver, conductor and other occupants fled.

The truck was later driven to the station. The five who were arrested at the Weighbridge, slightly more than 4km from the border, were briefly detained at the Busia police station.

Their release came following a meeting between senior police officers in Busia led by County Commissioner Jacob Narengo and their Ugandan counterpart.

The scrap metal was offloaded from the truck by inmates from Korinda GK prison.

The Kenya Revenue Authority officers had to establish whether there were other goods packed with the scrap metal.

Nyoike said the metal was supposed to be transported to Kampala, not Kenya.

“The Ugandan police officers pursued the truck from Tororo and it was at night so they were unable to know well where their boundary ends,” Nyoike said.

He added,” The Ugandan officers were meaning well because they wanted to know what was being carried in the truck."

This is not the first time law enforcement from Uganda have been arrested in Kenya with firearms. In September last year, two Ugandan soldiers were arrested after crossing into Kenya.

The pair at the time were pursuing a vehicle that was ferrying fish.