Car thefts expose security lapse.

The fact that car thieves who sell stolen cars from Kenya and Uganda in DR Congo freely operate in Arua has exposed the army and police’s laxity and poor surveillance in West Nile.

The suspected car thieves who are said to steal cars from Nairobi and other parts of western Kenya are living in Arua town, some of them disguising as visitors and businessmen in the town.

This is according to sources in the intelligence network that preferred anonymity to protect their identity while working in the district.
But on Wednesday, police successfully netted one of the car dealers and recovered a stolen car.

The 35-year-old Kenyan national is now held at the Central Police Station in Arua on allegations of theft. According to the car owner, who arrived in Arua on thursday morning, Mr Samuel Wanjohi, a resident of Mois in Kitale, western Kenya, the thieves stole his car at gunpoint. “After putting me on gunpoint, they put me in a car boot and later dumped me on the Kenya-Uganda border and drove towards Uganda,” he said.

The car was stolen two weeks ago and the thieves replaced the Kenyan registration number with a fake Uganda registration. The vehicle was found parked at the compound of a resident in Arua hill division.

The Northwestern Police Spokesperson, Ms Josephine Angucia, said there is a racket of thieves who take advantage of the porous borders. “We need to strengthen surveillance at border points and will scrutinise the foreigners on what they do here,” she said.

Police said the vehicle was seen on the road several times. In a statement recorded at police by the person where the stolen car was recovered, she said her husband, now on the run, only told her that he was expecting visitors from Kenya but did not tell her their details. “It is not the first time that they are stealing Kenyan vehicles and passing them through Arua,” Ms Angucia added.

In March last year, four cars were found hidden in Dadamu where a Congolese businessman was arrested and confessed that he is a dealer in stolen cars.

The suspected car thieves who are said to steal cars from Nairobi and other parts of western Kenya are living in Arua town, some of them disguising as visitors and businessmen in the town.