Girl, 17, 'resurrects' in mortuary after mob attack for stealing bananas

Police in Uganda have launched investigations into an incident where a 17-year-old girl who had been reported dead was found alive in a morgue.

The victim had been pronounced dead after being subjected to mob justice for allegedly stealing bananas in Apac, a town in the Northern part of the country. 

She was found breathing by medics as they were preparing to conduct a post-mortem on her body at the local hospital.

North Kyoga Police Spokesperson Patrick Jimmy Okema said the girl had been transferred to the morgue by police officers after the mob incident. 

"Information was received that she passed on after being beaten by a mob accusing her of theft. Our officers visited the scene, recorded statements, and conveyed her body to the mortuary at the Apac Main hospital, "Okema said.

The girl has since been transferred to the Intensive Care Unit for special medical attention.

Meanwhile, one person suspected to have participated in the mob justice has been arrested.

Okema has now called for other suspects who participated in the incident to hand in themselves as police officers already have their identities.

"We appeal to members of the public to desist from the act of taking the law into their hands. They should rather apprehend and hand over suspected criminals to the police for appropriate action.

"Those on the run should know that we have profiled them. So, they should just hand themselves over to the police and answer charges of attempted murder, before we hunt them down," he added.