Patriotism trainees shoot two

Hairat Namudiba in Iganga Hospital. PHOTOs by YAZID YOLISIGIRA

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The Iganga District Police Commander, Mr Herbert Nuwagaba, said the incident was being investigated but declined to comment on the trainers’ failure to give villagers advance warning

IGANGA.
A 10-year-old girl and a 55-year-old man have been admitted to Iganga Hospital in critical condition after they were shot by people undergoing “patriotism training” in Kigulu North County in Iganga District.

Hairat Namudiba, a resident of Nabikote village, and Mr Emmanuel Munyirwa, a resident of Nabukone village, were shot on Tuesday evening as locals who were drafted into the training programme by the Resident District Commissioner’s (RDC) office, were being taken through military drills by instructors from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).

Namudiba, who was injured in the abdomen and has since been using a catheter to pass out urine, says she was shot at her parents’ home.

Mr Munyirwa said: “I was in the swamp trying to collect papyrus when I heard gunshots. I had no Idea about the shooting. In no time I felt a lot of pain on my right hand,” Mr Munyirwa told Saturday Monitor. The two victims were referred to Mulago National Referral Hospital for further treatment but by Thursday, they were still stranded at Iganga hospital because the hospital ambulance had no fuel.
Angry villagers complained that they were not warned of the impeding shooting exercise which was conducted in Namungalwe valley.

“We were not given prior notice about the shooting; we just heard a rain of gunshots. There was no hill and you wonder how one could conduct such an exercise on a flat land,” Mr Munyirwa said.

The Iganga District Police Commander, Mr Herbert Nuwagaba, said the incident was being investigated but declined to comment on the trainers’ failure to give villagers advance warning.

He referred Saturday Monitor to RDC Ramathan Walugembe, whose office organised the training. However, he could not be reached by telephone as his known mobile phone was unavailable by press time.