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Police to arm traffic officers

Fred Enanga, the Uganda Police spokesperson, said police plans to arm traffic officers with firearms.

Kampala Metropolitan Police Deputy Spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire confirmed the shooting.

Enanga revealed this today, adding that even though some traffic officers were already armed there are plans to acquire more pistols.

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These plans come in the wake of a traffic police officer being shot and injured in Ntinda by a senior Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldier while on duty.

The traffic police officer who was shot is called Robert Mukebezi. Eyewitness accounts indicate that he was shot and injured after a minor traffic accident.

Mukebezi, who is attached to the Ntinda Police station, was in the passenger seat of a tow truck that was towing a military Toyota Prado TX registration number H4DF 1391 belonging to a senior UPDF officer after it was involved in an accident.

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Thereupon, he was shot by the senior UPDF officer whose car he was having towed away.

Preliminary information indicated that there was a misunderstanding between the traffic officer and the soldiers regarding recovery of a military vehicle that was involved in the accident. In the process, unfortunately, the traffic officer was shot and injured in the leg. The officer was rushed to Mulago Hospital and fortunately, he has been stabilized and is out of danger,” the UPDF said on Sunday, soon after the shooting.

Acting UPDF spokesperson. Lt. Col. Ronald Kakurungu, said the senior UPDF officer was still on the run but a manhunt has been mounted to discover his whereabouts.

UPDF and the Uganda Police Force have also launched joint investigations into the matter,” Kakurungu added.

Kampala Metropolitan Police Deputy Spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said the accident happened along Ntinda-Kiwatule Road whereupon the UPDF vehicle knocked a signpost at about 5:00 am.

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Owoyesigyire explained that the occupants of the army vehicle deserted the car. So nobody was in the car when the tow truck showed up to tow it away.

The vehicle was towed away early in the morning during daybreak. As the officer seated inside a tow truck was approaching former Tuskys Ntinda another double cabin intercepted them, persons in military fatigue came out and shot at the driver’s side,” Owoyesigyire said.

Contrary to what the UPDF spokesperson said, Mukebezi sustained serious injuries to the leg and is now in Mulago hospital casualty ward in critical condition, says Owoyesigyire.

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Email: news@pulse.ug

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