Private guard shoots LDU during curfew

Arua, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | An Local Defense Unit-LDU officer is admitted at Rhema Hospital in Arua after being shot on the head by a private security guard using an arrow.

Rashid Aiga, who is attached to the 59th UPDF battalion in Arua was on patrol together with police officers near Stabex fuel station along Arua-Nebbi road on Friday night when he was shot by the guard attached to Honey Pride Arua.

Lauben Ndifuna, the West Nile Region UPDF spokesperson has confirmed the incident saying the officers were enforcing curfew when Aiga was shot.

Steven Dravu, the deputy Arua District Internal Security Officer-DISO who rushed to the scene identified the shooter as Jamal Musa who is at large.

He says Jamal was among the people who were still loitering on the road during curfew time and was canned by the officers.

He says Jamal who had gone to buy food by the road rushed back to Honey Pride behind Stabex Fuel Station after being canned, picked a bow and arrow and ran back to the road and shot Aiga.

“We reached there and managed to recover his bow and arrows from the honey plant with the help of the technical manager,” said Dravu.

According to eye witnesses, some by-standers around Stabex tried to stop Jamal from shooting at the officers as he took cover and aimed at the officers in vain.

Dravu says they have launched a manhunt for Jamal adding that they have tasked the management of Honey Pride Arua to produce him or risk closure of their plant.

Josephine Angucia the West Nile Region police spokesperson says they have commenced investigations into the matter.

Aiga is just one among several security officers who have been injured while trying to enforce the nationwide curfew aimed at stopping the spread of Covid-19.

Recently, the Defense Ministry Spokesperson, Brigadier Richard Karemire indicated that they had registered about 75 attacks targeting security officers enforcing the Covid-19 preventive measures.

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