Kampala – Police say they are working with other security agencies and partners in devising means to curb gun violence in the country.
Addressing press on Monday, Fred Enanga the police spokesperson said they are working with private security organizations, the leadership and associations of private security organizations to ensure that they have the right policies, intelligence detection and enforcement.
Enanga noted that gun violence had reduced in the past due to intensive policing and stricter gun policy that they had.
The recent spate of gun violence in the country has caused fear among members of the public.
Just last week, over three shooting incidents were registered in different parts of the country.
One of these involved a security guard attached to Saracen Uganda Limited who allegedly shot dead a colleague in Tororo.
Moses Okedi is said to have shot John Okudi dead on Wednesday last week following a disagreement while the two undertook security duties at their post.
The two guards were deployed overnight to man the security of residential premises belonging to Tororo Cement in senior quarters but allegedly broke into disagreement, which led to Okedi shooting his colleague to death.
In another incident, police constable Charles Opio shot dead Lance Corporal Yeremiah Turyamureba a UPDF officer attached to Ruhengyere Engineering Brigade in Kiruhura district on Friday last week. The two allegedly developed disagreements over a woman.
“This is a police officer who developed a motive earlier in the day on the 19th of May at 3 pm when he allegedly saw the victim befriending his girlfriend and they were even taking selfies. Three hours later as he was going to work at 6 pm he still found the two together so there was a verbal exchange and then he shot a single bullet to the chest of the UPDF officer and killed him instantly. The suspect was arrested and the killer weapon recovered,” said Enanga
Another incident happened in Mukono where A 21-year-old Uganda Christian University (UCU) student was shot and injured by a policeman whose house she attempted to open when she mistook it to be her friend’s in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
Natasha Nagayi was allegedly shot by ASP Dismas Tebangole, attached to the Counter Terrorism Police, VIPPU after she was mistaken for a burglar.
Enanga said although these incidents have caused fear among the public, they were not a result of organised crime.
“….we remain concerned over the recent string of shootings, and this is trying to tell us that there are people in security and even criminals who don’t value life, the way it used to be valued before,” said Enanga.
“….what the public should know is that suppressing the aggressive conduct of officers or security guards private security guards, of course, remains a priority,” he added
The police mouthpiece says that the slight increase in what he called reckless types of shootings over petty conflicts and disputes shows that people are getting desperate.
“We continue to see shootings that are arising out of domestic violence, rage and anger, jealousy which all contribute to crime,” he said adding that they have measures that they are working on to ensure that they address those reckless types of shootings that are costing lives now.
