They asked him to surrender money, a mobile phone and any other valuables, and when he declared that he had left everything at home before going to the mosque, they hit him with a paver and killed him.
A 21-year old student of Victoria University identified as Abdallah Ali Muhammad died instantly after being hit on the head with a concrete paver.
Muhammad was killed on Friday night at 8:30pm by a group of unidentified gangsters who attacked him in the Quarter zone in Najjanankumbi, in Makindye Division.
According to residents, the deceased was travelling back home after attending evening prayers in a mosque when he was waylaid by the gangsters. They asked him to surrender money, a mobile phone and any other valuables, and when he declared that he had left everything at home before going to the mosque, they hit him with a paver and killed him.
It is alleged that the hitmen who were travelling in a number of groups, blocked roads entering and leaving Masanyalaze and Kizito Block zone in Ndeeba, and other roads including Stella-Najjanankumbi and Ndeeba-Kabowa roads, in what seemed to be an organized operation.
Residents in a fenced residential house said they heard the thugs menacingly demanding for mobile phones and money from Muhammad which he said he had left at home.
They further said that the incident has become a common occurrence in Najjanankumbi, Kabowa and Mutundwe in night hours, and that the attack on the university student was the latest.
According to the LC 2 chairperson for Najjanankumbi, Hussein Abdi, the thugs travelling in groups of about 15, normally pounce on their victims and strip them of all their belongings, and kill those found with nothing on them.
The Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, Luke Owoyesigyire said police are following up on these groups and have arrested several of their members. Owoyesigyire said they are tracking down the university student’s killers and gave assurances that they will get them.
Several residents said the place where Mohammad was killed has turned into a very dangerous spot needing intensified police patrols. Tina Angela, a neighbour to the deceased, confirmed this and added that the situation has grown out of the scope manageable by LC authorities in the area.
Another resident, Alex Ssebyala said the assailants usually travel on motorcycles and are armed with dangerous weapons. Ssebyala suggested that police mount up patrols and block all access roads in the area.
And Kenneth Kasibante, said the groups can only be managed by armed police as the assailants carry weapons with them and cannot be managed by civilians operating without any arms.
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