One person was on Thursday shot dead and another injured after police opened fire to quell a group of rowdy residents who attempted to resist the arrest of a colleague following a dispute of land in Kataluko Village, Lukwanga, Wakiso District.
The deceased, identified as Joseph Ssenyondo, 40, a bricklayer, died while being rushed to St Joseph Hospital for treatment after being hit by a bullet from armed police officers who were deployed at the scene.
Eyewitnesses say Ssenyondo, who was randomly passing by the scene, was pronounced dead on arrival at the health facility, while Jacob Nsubuga Wasswa remains admitted at Mulago National Referral Hospital.
The officers from Bukasa Police Station had gone to the area with the intent to arrest one of the residents accused of assault over a land-related conflict when the residents tried to remove him from them, prompting the violent retaliation.
“The issue is about land. Someone had been arrested, and he cried for help, so we, the residents, came to rescue him. When police officers at the scene saw us, they fired three bullets; one hit the Ssenyondo, another injured one person, while the third did not hit anyone,” an eyewitness said.
Residents accused Mr Ssebanakitta of fueling land conflicts in the area through unscrupulous dealings, something he adamantly rejected.
He instead explained that the piece of land in question had been sold and that the buyer had started using the property before a group of people allegedly assaulted him, took his money and mobile phone, prompting him to report the matter to police.
“The owner had started using his place, but they came, assaulted him, and took his money and phone. He went to the police and reported the matter. They had now been traced so they could go and make statements,” Mr Ssebanakitta, a land dealer in the area, said.
Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, Ms Racheal Kawala, confirmed the shooting and said investigations had started.
She explained police officers had gone to the area following a complaint related to a land dispute, but a confrontation with some residents erupted at the scene.
“We have started investigating the fracas that occurred in Lukwanga, which is related to land,” Ms Kawala said.
She added that police officers were at the scene when the confrontation broke out and that they fired shots to disperse the crowd.
“In the process of dispersing the crowd, our officers fired the bullet that accidentally hit a resident,” she said.
Ms Kawala said the police officer responsible for the shooting would be arrested as investigations continue.
The incident adds to a growing record of violence and confrontations linked to land disputes in Wakiso and other parts of the country.
In February this year, Tom Kato, a resident of Kibujjo-Seeta in Bembe Parish, Namayumba Sub-county, Wakiso District, was killed by unknown people in circumstances linked to a family land dispute. Police arrested his wife as investigations continued, but the family has yet to get justice.
In another incident, a resident of Buwanuka village in Namayumba Sub-county accused police and local leaders of conniving with a land surveyor in a dispute involving more than 1,000 residents on a contested 1,044.9-acre piece of land.
Source: monitor.co.ug
