Driver knocks priest dead at Zebra crossing
KAMPALA- Police are hunting a motorist who knocked dead a Catholic priest as he was crossing the road at Lweza on Entebbe Road on Saturday evening.
Rev Fr Augustine Kato of Lweza Parish was from his parish when the incident happened at the Zebra crossing. The motorist sped off after the accident.
Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman Luke Owoyesigyire said: “There are some people who saw the vehicle and they have shared some licence plate numbers of the vehicle they suspect to have knocked the priest. We have not yet got the car or its driver, but traffic officers have made some progress.”
Section 125 of the Traffic and Road Safety Act, 1998, states that it is the duty of a driver to stop after the occurrence of an accident and ascertain “whether any person has been injured, in which event it shall be his or her duty to render all practicable assistance to the injured person”. And when the driver does not stop due to security concern, he or she shall immediately report the accident to the nearest police station. Mr Owoyesigyire said the driver neither stopped nor reported to police.
According to the Police Crime and Road Safety report of 2017, pedestrians constitute the biggest percentage of fatalities and injuries on the roads. Of the 3,051 people killed in road accident in 2017, a total of 1,319 were pedestrians. Another 2,135 pedestrians were injured in the same year.
Uganda Episcopal Conference statement on their social media platform said “his body will be laid to rest at Uganda Martyrs Shrine Namugongo Cemetery today”.
