Criminal Investigation Officers have kicked off investigations to determine the masterminds of the recent torching of ten houses and a church at Okame village, Teso south sub county, Busia County.
Teso south OCPD Paul Odede told journalists in his office at Amukura that the investigations are at a advanced stage and that soon the culprits will be arrested and arraigned in court.
Mr. Odede added that they didn’t want to make haste arrests without tangible evidence.
“We had to carry out thorough investigations to ascertain those who took part in the arson before we arrests them.”
The police boss also called on members of the community to sought amicable ways of solving family disputes instead of resolving to take law in their own hands.
“Like in this incident members of the same family which is extent had a boundary dispute which started long ago and we have agencies which could have handled it well without reaching an extending of one side burning down houses and a church.” He said.
During the Sunday 12th June incident, unknown people about fifty in number attacked the homes and burnt them down, killed animals including chickens and pigs, and cut down maize and trees.
A church headed by a member of the family was also burnt down.
Nobody was however injured in the incident as members of the affected homesteads ran away and are now camping at a church at Alupe.
The victims have named Okame sublocation assistance chief Andrew Odato as the mastermind of the torching of houses.
According to Mr. Simeon Ong’amo, the assistance chief provoked a section of the members of the family by telling them that their father who had died had been killed due to the boundary.
“He went to the funeral and said that he found my father, my mother and I performing some rituals which led to the death of one elder in the home of our brothers. He said.
“Those in the funeral were angered and reacted by burning down our houses and the church. We heard the assistant chief talking outside telling the people to start the attack. When we got out, and after seeing us, he ran away.” He added.
The assistant chief is a member of the family.
Earlier on the Busia county government through the department of disaster management aided the family of about thirty people, whose houses were burnt, with mattresses, maize, cooking oil and other basic needs as more help was to follow.
Chief Officer in the department of disaster Moses Weunda who presented the aid to the victims at Alupe also used the opportunity to urge other well-wishers and organizations to come in and give humanitarian help to the victims.
Of the thirty victims most of them women, one is a pregnant woman, another has a four months old baby while there are about fifteen children who were in school with the eldest being a form three boy at St. Paul’s Amukura Boys.
The rest were in standard eight to baby class.