court pins Arua Regional referral hospital staff in Ambulance theft.

A prosecution witness has pinned staff from Arua Regional Referral Hospital and others still at large for participating in the theft of the host ambulance.

In December 2021, the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court charged Alex Wadia, a driver at the hospital, Mathew Ewaru, a security guard at the hospital, and Denis Ocatre, a volunteer dental assistant, and others with five offences, including abuse of office, corruption, causing loss of public property, theft and conspiracy to commit a felony.

Samuel Philliam Alionzi, a detective currently attached to Rhino Camp Police Post in Madi Okollo district, testified on Tuesday before the Anti-Corruption Principal Grade One Magistrate, Moses Nabende Mushebebe.

Alionzi testified that he was directed to join the investigation team, which included Enos Odong, the former officer in charge of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Arua, and Alfred Okello, a detective in the department, after the matter was reported to police on March 29, 2021.

He recorded statements from key suspects, including Moses Baguma alias Alutu, a motorcycle seller in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Baguma confessed to participating in the theft of the ambulance and explained that his role was to look for a market for the stolen vehicle in Congo. According to Alionzi, another suspect, Denis Ocatre, revealed that the plan to steal the vehicle was set for Saturday, March 27, 2021, after they secured a buyer in Congo.