This archive report was first published on 16 September 2019.
Published on September 16, 2019, a robbery at a Catholic church in Alego Usonga sub-county marked the latest attack in a wave of crime that has shaken the area.
On Friday night, robbers broke into the church and stole cellphones belonging to nuns, priests, and some visitors from Uganda. Residents of Siaya Township and Rabar in West Alego expressed concern over the constant raids, saying they are now living in fear.
According to County Commissioner Michael ole Tialal, the incident occurred around 8 pm. He stated, “The two robbers managed to get away with cellphones from the convent and the priest’s house. They probably thought that the visitors who had come to church from Uganda had brought some money,”
Commissioner Tialal explained that the priests and nuns were inside their houses when the incident happened. He noted, “They had not closed the doors although they should have also informed us they had visitors so that we could offer security. The nuns were locked up in a room when the robbers embarked on their business and left in a motorbike,”
Earlier last week, a businessman was shot in the thigh in another incident. The commissioner stated that strange people accosted the businessman and his wife as they were just about to get in their home from work. He added, “They did not steal anything because the man struggled with them. He managed to take the pistol from them which he surrendered to us. In the process of struggle, he was shot in the thigh and is currently in hospital,”
Residents of Rabar in the neighbouring Siaya township raised concerns over high insecurity cases. They said two families had buried their kin last month after they were attacked and killed by unknown people. Since January 2019, more than five people had lost their lives to unknown people.
Resident Zedekiah Adika revealed that three other families had experienced violence attacks from unknown people during their funeral activities at night last month, leaving several people with injuries. He stated, “A man was injured in Kalkada village and is currently recovering from machete wounds. A woman was attacked last month while a 17-year-old boy was attacked at night and left with machete injuries,”
