A man dressed in the infamous yellow prison uniform got out on Police motorbike and rode casually through Kitgum town.
The incident was photographed by suspicious onlookers who shared in on social media. So strange it was that it surpassed everyone’s imagination hence attracting comparisons with the popular film Prison Break.
But the Police have come out to say this was not a mad man nor an escapee. It was the failure of officers on duty and that they are seeking to take disciplinary action against those responsible.
Aswa Region Police spokesperson Patrick Jimmy Okema says the inmate, was allowed to go to town to purchase spare parts to repair the motorbike.
“We were told that motor cycle was given to him to repair. He was testing the bike and he had gone to buy spare parts. However, it sounds strange so we have opened up a general inquiry file at the Police Professional Standards Unit to find out why the inmate did not recommend someone else to buy for him the spare parts he wanted,” Okema explains.
Perhaps interesting also is that the Kitgum Police has received backing from their colleagues from Kitgum Prisons who allowed the inmate to offer assistance to Police in an emergency situation.
According to a statement released by Kitgum prisons commander Allan Okello, it is normal for inmates to engage in income generating activities especially when they are about to complete their sentences. This helps them to prepare them for life in the community they hope return to’.
“There are those ones they trust. When you are about to complete the sentences, they know that they are not willing to commit an offense that will bring them back to prison again.” said , Allan Okello.
Okema noted that the Babylon got himself into trouble when he lost a client’s motorbike at his garage in Kitgum town. For this reason he was jailed for five years and that the inmate is about to complete his jail term.
Okema adds however that that the Professional Standards Unit has opened a General inquiry file PSU/ASWA/GEF/47/2017 to investigate the incident which he says should not have happened.
