Police officers take an oath to protect and serve. They are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that upholds justice and maintains public trust.
However, when those entrusted to uphold the law cross the line, it can weaken public trust in the very system they are meant to protect.
Unfortunately, in Gulu District, a detective sergeant is accused of doing just that, failing the very community he was entrusted to protect.
Detective Sergeant Bosco Ociti, who serves at the Awach sub-county model policing station, has been arrested for allegedly releasing a suspect involved in a serious crime.
The suspect, Evelyn Aciro, aged 35, had been linked to an attempted murder and arson case involving her four-year-old stepdaughter.
Ociti’s actions have raised serious concerns about accountability within the police force and justice for the victim.
Aciro had been detained following her arrest on September 14, after she allegedly set fire to her co-wife’s grass-thatched hut in Latwong Village, Paduny Sub-County, Gulu District.
The hut, where her husband was staying for the night, was engulfed in flames, leaving her co-wife, 33-year-old Concy Apiyo, her four-year-old stepdaughter Gloria Adoch, and her husband David Akena with severe burns.
David Ongom Mudong, the Aswa West Police Spokesperson, said on Friday that Detective Sergeant Bosco Ociti unlawfully released Aciro without informing his senior officers at Awach Police Station.
His actions triggered protests from the local community and gender-based rights activists, leading to his arrest.
Ociti has been charged with the unlawful release of a suspect and will face disciplinary action pending the outcome of an investigation.
Aciro has since been rearrested and remains in custody, facing charges of attempted murder and arson.
In another case, police in Gulu City have arrested six suspects linked to the fatal shooting of a 27-year-old female commercial sex worker, Sharifa Akullu.
Akulu was gunned down on September 14 outside Lim Welo Guest House in Pece-Laroo Division.
The suspects include the guest house’s owner, an employee, and four other sex workers.
Investigations are ongoing, with a bullet from the scene sent to Kampala for forensic analysis.
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