Police in West Nile Region, Northern Uganda, have arrested two suspects who attempted to bribe a police officer in order to secure release of a murder suspect.

The two suspects, identified as Ajikia Annet, 28, and Nyakuta Brian, 22, both from Arua District, are said to have committed the offence on 14th April 2024 at around 4:30 pm.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that Ajikia and Nyakuta, together with others including one Onzima Innocent and clan members, had on 17th December 2023 murdered their relative Arijule Alido.

“After the murder, they burnt all his properties and demolished his house and then picked his body which they dumped in a pit latrine,” Uganda Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga says.

A police report says that after committing the incident, the suspects fled to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

However, the suspects returned from their hideout when they got wind that Maloba Moses, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) officer who was handling the case at the time had been transferred.

“They mobilised Ugx 2m, from other suspects and on the 12.04.2024, [tried] to bail out the prime suspect Onzima Innocent, who was arrested on 12.04.2024. They tried to bribe the new OC CID D/ASP Kalinaki Japhar, with bribery,” a police report filed at Arua Vuira Central Police Station.

“Bribing a police officer to destroy a case is punishable by law and must be avoided. Instead the most important thing to do is to contact a defence attorney in your area, to fight the charges against you,” Enanga said.

The police spokesperson applauded officer Kalinaki for taking a stand against bribery. “A badge carries enormous responsibility along with the trust it confers. Those who defend that responsibility have the true character of the police. By his actions he owes the public honest services free from bias. We shall continue relying on such officers, to do their work with honesty and integrity.”