Authorities at Luzira Prisons have confirmed death of a self-confessed criminal from Lira town, Joseph Omoo alias Ajep.
The North Kyoga Regional Prison Commander, Tobias Ebong Ocha says Ajep died from Luzira Prison's Sick Bay over the weekend where he was admitted for multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis (TB). Ocha says he received information about Ajep's death from the prison authorities on Sunday evening.
According to files, Ajep was prosecuted at Lira Chief Magistrate Court on July 7, 2017 where he was sentenced to one year imprisonment for escaping from lawful custody.
Arrested in June, Ajep escaped from Lira Regional Referral Hospital where he had been admitted for TB treatment. He fell sick while on remand at Lira Central Government Prison for aggravated robbery.
Ajep made headlines after his escape when he called on several radio stations in Lira and confessed to be a serial robber, but said he invested his proceeds in Lango, something he asked people to appreciate him for.
Ajep said unlike other thieves who just waste their loot, he had invested in real estate in Lira and created employment for several unemployed youths, something he said ought to have made him stand out. He also implicated some senior police officers who he claimed aided his escape from detention at the time.
However, two weeks after his escape, the police Flying Squad from Kamplala and Lira re-arrested him together with three of his accomplices from Namatala, a suburb in Mbale town and took him back to Lira Central Police Station.
Two days after his re-arrest, on July 7th at about 6:30 pm, in what police said was a move to avoid the mob attacking the police to hijack Ajep, he was brought before Hillary Kiwanuka, the Lira Chief Magistrate, and charged with escaping from lawful custody.
In a session that took only about five minutes, Kiwanuka sentenced him to one year imprisonment after he pleaded guilty. The chief magistrate argued that because Ajep did not waste court's time, it was necessary to hand him such a lenient sentence.
Kiwanuka also ordered that the convict be transferred to Luzira Maximum Prison within 12 hours from where his health could properly be monitored.
Frank Baine, the Uganda Prisons Service spokesperson, says Ajep's body is currently in the mortuary at the Luzira Prison Sick Bay. He says the prisons authorities are waiting for the relatives of the deceased to pick the body for burial.
