An overzealous police officer on patrol in Kyebando, a Kampala City suburb, shot and injured a boda passenger as he was being taken to Mulago hospital for medical attention.
Mr Jedi Onyango, 49, who survived death narrowly, said he felt discomfort on Wednesday morning and called his doctor who directed that he should go to Mulago hospital.
“I went to the roadside and hitched a ride to Mulago hospital, but once we reached Mawanda Road, a pick-up truckload of field force officers waved us down. They flashed at us and I told the rider to stop. Immediately, one of the police officers cocked his gun and released one bullet that missed my head by inches as I ducked,” he said.
Onyango added: “He again released another bullet that caught my hand. The officer thought I had died. He came closer and stabbed my foot several times with his bayonet and dumped me in the trench and drove away.”
Mr Onyango said a few minutes after, a group of boda boda riders came and hauled him out of the gutter and carried him to One Touch Medical Centre in Kyebando to get first aid.
Condition
Ms Harriet Dariwaru, his wife, said nurses at the medical facility called her to inform her that husband had suffered an accident and was admitted.
She said another boda boda rider also called and told her that Onyango had been shot by police officers on Mawanda Road.
“I dashed to the clinic to check and I found his condition critical and immediately transferred him to Tumaini Health Centre in Kanyanya where he is receiving medical care,” she said.
But when contacted about the incident, the Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson, Mr Luke Owoyesigyire, said they had not received any information about the shooting and brutalising of Mr Onyango.
“I have called the Kiira Road divisional police commander who has said he will find out and get back to me,” he said.
Other incidents
Several people have lost their lives at the hands of security agencies enforcing the Covid-19 guidelines since when the country was placed under lockdown to contain the spread of the viral disease.
The victims were shot by soldiers of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), the Uganda Police Force, and the Local Defence Unit (LDU).
They include Margret Nanyunja, 80, who died after LDU personnel raided her home in Kyengera Town Council on Masaka Road in Wakiso District on April 10.
Wilber Kawono of Budaka District was shot by police officers on April 18.
After the incident, the Budaka District Police Commander, Ms Shadia Nabunya told journalists that Kawono had carried a passenger on a motorcycle, thus contravening President Museveni’s ban on public transport.
Ms Nabunya said Kawono had disobeyed orders to stop, prompting an officer to shoot at his motorcycle tyre but ended up killing him.
Evelyn Namulondo of Budhumbuli in Jinja Town was shot in the stomach by security personnel as she went to buy merchandise on a motorcycle at 5am. She succumbed to the bullet wounds at Jinja hospital.
