FAKE SOLDIERS! UPDF-Uniformed Robbers Kidnap Kombucha Team, Grab Shs5.5m

A Kombucha drinks sales team was robbed of 5.51 million Shillings and other valuables after suspected highway robbers dressed in UPDF-replica uniforms and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) reflector jackets intercepted them along the Iganga-Kaliro road.

The incident occurred on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at about 5 pm near Kigulu Trading Centre in Nakalama Sub-county, Iganga District.

Kenneth Twinamastiko, 32, a salesman at the Kombucha drink company’s Iganga branch, said he was travelling with the company driver, Damulira Waiswa, in a truck with registration number UA 126DJ after spending the day supplying drinks in Bulumba and Buyuge sub-counties in Kaliro District.

According to Twinamastiko, the team had made sales worth 5.51 million Shillings during the day before they were intercepted on their way back to Iganga. He said two men who were wearing URA reflector jackets first stopped their vehicle and asked Waiswa to produce his driving permit and trading licence.

Twinamastiko said he explained that the trading licence was pinned at their manager’s office and attempted to contact his supervisor to have it produced. However, before he could resolve the matter, three armed men dressed in UPDF-like uniforms surrounded their vehicle and declared them under arrest.

The suspects then forced the two men into a Toyota Wish without registration plates and drove them past Iganga Central Police Station towards Mayuge Road. Twinamastiko said the suspects later stopped at an isolated spot along the Iganga-Mayuge road, where they demanded all the money from the day’s sales.

The suspects allegedly took 5.51 million Shillings, a Samsung smartphone, an Itel phone, an ATM card and Twinamastiko’s national identity card before driving about three kilometres and abandoning the victims on a feeder road. The two men were later assisted by well-wishers to Iganga Central Police Station, where they reported the incident as aggravated robbery and kidnapping.

Busoga East Regional Police spokesperson Michael Kasadha confirmed the incident, saying the victims were in good health and had recorded statements with police.

Kasadha said police had intensified operations to identify and apprehend the suspects, including snap checks and foot and motorised patrols in areas around Magamaga Town Council, Nakalama Sub-county, Mayuge Town Council and Bugiri District.

He said the latest incident was part of a worrying pattern of highway robberies in which armed suspects allegedly disguise themselves in UPDF-like uniforms to target traders travelling with large amounts of cash. According to Kasadha, police have so far registered four such cases.

He said police had previously contained the wave of robberies through successful investigations and prosecutions, but some suspects were released earlier this year, which he believes may have contributed to the resurgence of the crime.

Kasadha said the perpetrators were largely targeting suppliers of bulky goods who receive cash payments from customers after delivering their products.

He assured members of the business community that police were working to protect their goods and property, but urged traders and suppliers to adopt electronic payment systems and avoid travelling with large amounts of cash, which could make them targets for highway robbers.