A police officer in Teso has lost his gun after being attacked by a civilian.
The officer, Corporal Joshua Kibei, lost the rifle while on patrol, a police report seen by the Star said.
The incident happened along the Kenya-Uganda railway line in Malaba town.
According to the police report recorded under OB Number 26/26/01/2024, the officer was attacked by a man who was walking along the railway line moving towards the Kenyan side of the border.
The incident happened on Friday at 10:40 am.
“While he was on foot patrol along the railway line bordering Kenya and Uganda near the bridge, one male adult who was walking from the Ugandan side met with him and the [officer] asked him where he was going,” the police report reads in part.
“He (civilian) pretended that he was to meet somebody from Kenya. All of a sudden he grabbed the railway stones, hit the officer on the left shoulder wrestled him down and grabbed the firearm make AK-47 Serial No: 60033594 loaded with 30 rounds 7.62mm.”
The man, after grabbing the gun from the officer is said to have run downstream along river Malaba.
“As a result, the officer raised an alarm and members of the public and officers from both Malaba police station and Railway police post rushed to the scene where the robber disappeared to the thicket along the river,” the report said.
“Officers are still combing the ground and DCI Teso North [officers] are dealing [with the case].”
The area where the officer was attacked is an undesignated border crossing point where police officers are deployed to check smuggling.
Police sources said the incident is the third to happen in the area.
Two similar incidents have been reported in the place where Ugandan police officers last year lost two guns.
The incidents involving Ugandan cops happened on the Ugandan side of the border.
The guns are yet to be recovered.
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