By The Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) has spoken out following the brutal mob killing of Police Constable Suleiman Chemonges, clarifying that the death of the remand prisoner which triggered the violence was not due to abuse or mistreatment, but resulted from illness.
In a press release dated April 7, 2025, UPS confirmed the death of Lazarus Kahangire, a 48-year-old remand prisoner who had been admitted to Nyabuhikye Government Prison in Ibanda District on March 20, 2025, on charges of attempted murder under section 187(a) of the Penal Code Act.
According to the prison authorities, Kahangire was in a fragile state of health upon admission, weighing only 49 kilograms and suffering from a pre-existing medical condition. After two weeks in custody, he succumbed to illness on the morning of April 4, 2025, at Ruhoko Hospital, where he had been taken for treatment.
A postmortem report, Uganda Prisons confirmed, revealed that the cause of death was lobar pneumonia and anaemia.
No. 75290 PC Chemonges Suleiman, a police officer attached to Bisheshe Police Station, was lynched by a mob on April 6, 2025, while providing security at the burial of Kahangire Lazarus in Kambogo Cell, Bisheshe Division. The Uganda Police Force said the officer had been deployed to maintain peace during the funeral.
Uganda Prisons Service has strongly condemned the mob justice, calling the act barbaric and urging the Uganda Police Force to bring the culprits to book.
“It is regrettable that the mob took the law into their own hands, attacked, and wrongfully killed Police Officer PC Suleiman Chemonges, who was on duty,” read part of the statement.
The statement emphasized the UPS’s commitment to upholding human rights and proper medical care for inmates, noting that the deceased prisoner’s family had been duly informed and all protocols followed.
The Uganda Prisons Service extended its condolences to the families of both the late constable and the deceased prisoner, urging the public to avoid acts of vengeance and allow justice to take its course.
