Police boss beaten for slapping traffic officer in Lira

According to eyewitnesses of the incident, Manshur resisted arrest for violating a new traffic policy that requires all motorcyclists to wear a reflector jacket and a helmet.

The incident happened at Kakonge corner on Juba Road.

Manshur allegedly slapped a traffic officer who was accusing him of disregarding the new policy.

“He was stopped by traffic police officers, Field Force Unit officers and leaders of Lira City Boda boda Association who were helping the police to enforce the new guidelines. When asked why he was not following the traffic guidelines, the DPC became so aggressive and slapped a police traffic officer who was heading the operation. The victim then fell down," an eyewitness who prefered anonymity said.

In response, according to another eyewitness Francis Ogema Awany, boda boda operators who were with the enforcement team slapped the DPC.

“The DPC fell on the tarmac. But since the community members knew him as a police officer who once worked in Lira as the police spokesperson for North Kyoga, they came to his rescue," Ogema said.

However, the chairman of Lira City Boda Boda Association Sam Odongo, came out on Tuesday to deny the allegations that his team beat up Mannshur. He said that it was a police Crime Investigation Department (CID) detective who stopped Manshur and questioned him about not abiding by the policy.

"But Manshur became aggressive and started questioning them if they knew who he was. Following the argument, a traffic police officer who was heading the operation attempted to remove the ignition key from Manshur’s motorcycle but he slapped the police officer who fell on the ground. So, after seeing that their boss had been attacked, the armed police officers from the Field Force Unit came to his rescue and beat the DPC properly. There was gunfire exchange in the process," Odongo narrated.

North Kyoga Regional police traffic officer Mathias Okwir Mulumba blamed Manshur “for being unprofessional.”

"How can he slap a police officer in uniform on duty? We condemn such acts," he said.

Patrick Jimmy Okema, the North Kyoga Regional Police Spokesperson, said he's still waiting for details of the incident from the territorial police commanders.