There was drama in Hoima town on Friday when a suspected thief turned up at a police station with a snake wrapped around his neck.
The suspect is accused of stealing a solar panel from Mr Bonifance Ayesiga, a barber and resident of Kyabaseke village in Bugambe subcounty in Hoima District.
According to Police, on September 30, 2017, Ayesiga filed a complaint at Police in Bugambe claiming that unidentified thugs had broken into his barbershop and stole his two solar panels, a battery and a shaving machine.
“We started investigating the case but a friend reportedly connected Ayesiga to a witch doctor to help him recover the stolen items,” the Albertine regional police spokesperson, Mr Julius Hakiza said.
Today (Friday) at about 6am, the witch doctor, a resident of Kyesiga cell, Bujumbura division in Hoima municipality reportedly called Ayesiga informing him how he had successfully tracked the suspected thief.
“Residents saw a naked man carrying a solar panel with a snake wrapped around his neck,” Hakiza added.
The suspect, who was putting on black underwear, reportedly took himself to the residence of the witch doctor who in turn called Police.
Police rushed to the scene and arrested the suspect before taking him to Hoima central police station.
While at Police, Ayesiga identified the solar panel as his.
The witch doctor removed the snake from the neck of the suspect in full view of Police officers and Hoima residents who had gathered at the police station to witness the bizarre incident.
By press time, the suspect was still in police custody.
According to Mr Hakiza, the suspect looks disturbed and restless.
“He is speaking uncoordinated statements. We are yet to record details about his identity,” he said.
Several residents were seen picking phone numbers of the witch doctor.
This is not the first time such a bizarre incident has happened in the country.
In November, 2017, a swarm of bees attacked a man suspected to have stolen household items from a resident of Kijura north cell in Masindi District.
Fred Musiime, a resident of Masindi town who witnessed the incident told Sqoop that the bees had covered the man’s head, neck, part of the back and others were in his pockets.
The unidentified man who was bare-footed did not have a shirt but was wearing cream trousers as he carried a black sub-woofer and a DVD which he had allegedly stolen.
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