Buvuma Woman MP’s bodyguard accused of shooting, killing NRM Village chairperson
Buvuma District Woman MP Janepher Egunyu Nantume at a public meeting recently. COURTESY PHOTO
What you need to know:
An eye witness said a section of residents in the area have on several occasions accused the MP of betraying them when she supported the December 20, 2017 scrapping of the age limit for presidential candidates from the Constitution and have been waiting for the day to express their displeasure.
BUVUMA
Residents of Kiziba Village, Bugaya Sub County in Buvuma District have been left in distress after the village National Resistance Movement party chairman was allegedly shot dead by Woman MP Janepher Egunyu Nantume’s bodyguard.
Eyewitnesses said Martin Beema attached to Police VIP unit shot Sadiq Kizito in the neck at around 11am Sunday and later fled.
Mr Junior Sande, an eye witness and resident of Kiziba village, said he had gone with Kizito to attend a meeting organised by Ms Nantume before he was shot.
According to Mr Sande, the MP’s meeting was not publicized and even local leaders were not aware of her visit.
He said when Ms Nantume started to address the meeting, residents started heckling and telling her to leave.
Kizito is said to have grabbed megaphone from her prompting her guard to shoot.
“As the meeting started, Kizito rose up and grabbed a megaphone from her and the MP’s body guard who was standing next to her, cocked the gun and shot him,” Sande said
He said a section of residents in the area have on several occasions accused the MP of betraying them when she supported the December 20, 2017 scrapping of the age limit for presidential candidates from the Constitution and have been waiting for the day to express their displeasure.
“I believe this could be the reason why people started heckling her when she stood up to address them,” he said
Mr Stephen Matovu, another said they received information Sunday morning that the MP was visiting the area to donate sewing machines and hoes to residents.
Residents gathered at the scene where the NRM village chairman was shot and left dead by a security personnel attached to Buvuma woman MP Janepher Egunyu Nantume
“The items she had brought for us were still in the boat by the time of the shooting,” he said.
Mr Robert Migadde, the Buvuma county MP regretted the incident and urged guards attached to individual legislators to restrain from misusing guns.
“Let them [guards] know that they are providing security to politicians who are regularly verbally provoked by residents in their constituencies and should not rush to shoot at such people,” he said.
He advised Ms Nantume to cooperate with police as they investigate the matter.
We could not speak to Ms Nantume to get her side of the story because her known telephone number was switched off by the time of filing this story.
However, Ssezibwa regional Police Spokesperson, Ms Helen Butoto, confirmed the incident, saying police have started investigating the shooting.
“We are still gathering details about the shooting and the cause of it. We tried to contact Hon. Nantume too but her telephone contacts are all off,” Butoto said.
The shooting comes weeks after a security personnel attached to Kassanda South MP Simeo Nsubuga shot Saadi Ssemaganda, a guard at the city businessman Abid Alam’s farm located in Nalutuntu Sub County.
Mr Nsubuga had convened a meeting in the area to forge a way forward on the impending eviction of over 500 families occupying a seven-square-mile piece of land in the area.
The victim and other residents have since lodged a case at Kassanda Central Police Station accusing him (Nsubuga) and his bodyguard of attempted murder.
