A boxing gym in one of Kampala’s suburbs has become an unlikely crime scene after police arrested eight people in an intelligence-led operation linked to a viral TikTok video in which a group of men allegedly boast about violent attacks on members of the public.
The video, which has circulated widely on social media, appears to show about six individuals praising themselves for attacks they allegedly carried out, including assaults that they claim left victims with broken jaws and teeth.
In an apparent attempt at dark humour, the men allegedly demand a share of dentists’ earnings from treating their victims and threaten medical practitioners who refuse to comply.
Police say the video helped lead investigators to Gojo Gym in Namungona, Lubya Parish, in Rubaga Division, where officers carried out an operation on 8 September and arrested eight suspects.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects allegedly use the gym, under the guise of training boxing, as a meeting point,” police spokesperson Racheal Kawala for Kampala Metropolitan said, adding that they are suspected of involvement in violent criminal activities.
Police say the suspects are being investigated over allegations including robbery, housebreaking, theft, phone snatching, the use of deadly weapons and unlawful possession of narcotic substances.
Those arrested are Matiti Mohammed, also known as “Beast-Commander”; Nurudin Kasule, also known as “2 I/C”; Umar Mubiru; Adams Lukooya; Martin Kiyimba; Yosam Junior Alinda; James Walumu; and Elvis Simanya.
Police said the last four suspects were found at the gym during the operation, with some allegedly found in possession of substances suspected to be narcotics.
The arrests turn an otherwise ordinary social-media spectacle into a more serious police investigation: whether the boasts made in a viral video correspond to a wider pattern of organised street violence.
Authorities are continuing efforts to identify and arrest other people allegedly seen in the footage and to establish whether they were involved in the reported offences.
Police are also appealing to members of the public who may have information about the suspects or possible victims to come forward.
The eight suspects remain in police custody pending court proceedings.
For investigators, the case now extends beyond the video itself. They must establish which of the allegations made on camera amount to actual crimes, identify possible victims and determine whether the group’s apparent bravado was merely social-media theatre, or a glimpse into a real criminal network operating behind the façade of a boxing gym.
