New twist in BoU robbery, 5 Police guards arrested

The economy faces potential instability following the revelation that the seven laptops stolen from the Bank of Uganda on Monday held sensitive information.

In response, a collaborative security team has ramped up efforts to locate the missing devices.

Additionally, 30 laptops collected from the city shop have been taken for analysis, and at least 5 police guards have been arrested to assist in investigations.

A detective close to the probe said the officers who were deployed on duty on Monday night were arrested and they are currently detained at Railway police Station for further management.

The team from Crime Intelligence at Central Police Station, Kampala, are also analysing the 30 laptops that were collected from the city shops during the operation, where some suspects were also arrested.

The Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, Racheal Kawala, said the operation in downtown was intelligence-led, some suspected stolen materials were recovered, and suspects were arrested.

“Suspects were screened and released on police bond, but I don’t know how far detectives have gone with the suspected stolen items; I need to cross-check with them,” Kawala said.

The detective said the probe team, composed of police from Central Police Station Kampala and officials from Bank of Uganda, are looking into the circumstances that caused the break-in into the premises of the bank.

“We have confiscated mobile phones of the arrested guards and submitted them to the Directorate of Forensic Services to be forensically examined because we suspect there was connivance between the guards and the people who broke into the bank premises,” a detective said.

A security official at Bank of Uganda who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity said the probe team conducted a search in the premises and established that the seven stolen laptops contained Commercial data, including sales transactions and consumer insights. The data is widely used to analyse market trends and predict the performance of the economy.

When contacted, the BoU Director of Communication, Mr Kenneth Egesa, for a comment on the progress of the investigation, he declined to give many details.

“They are still ongoing; please be patient, we will update you once we have substantial information to share,” Mr Egesa said.

On Monday, Mr Egesa confirmed an incident of unlawful entry that was detected in the morning at BOU Head Office premises at Plot 45, Kampala Road, the shorter tower near City Square, situated between Church House on Kampala Road and the East African Development Bank Tower on Shimoni Road.

The incident occurred overnight, during which seven laptop computers were stolen.

“The matter is currently under investigation, and the BoU is working closely with the relevant security agencies to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and to take appropriate action,” the BoU statement reads.

The BoU assures the public that its core operations and services remain fully functional and have not been disrupted by this incident.

Growing trend

The Police Annual Crime Report 2025 indicates that 11,818 cases of break-ins were reported in 2025 compared to 13,511 in 2024, giving a 12.5 percent decrease. The highest number of cases registered in this category was burglaries with 5,600 cases, followed by house breakings with 2,425 and shop breakings with 1,800.

Of these cases, 6,585 were taken to court, 1,928 secured convictions, 94 were acquitted, 1,105 were dismissed, and 3,458 are undergoing trial, 3,676 are still under inquiry, while 1,557 were not proceeded with.