We shall investigate assault of traffic officer by soldier – Minister Oboth
A video grab of a military police officer harassing a traffic policeman for failing to clear the way for them.
What you need to know:
- The promise by the Minister came after the Nakaseke Central legislator Mr Allan Mayanja pressed him to explain.
The State Minister for Defense and Veteran Affairs, Mr Jacob Oboth Oboth has this afternoon assured lawmakers that the Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF) Investigations Unit will conduct thorough investigations into the misconduct of a military officer who grabbed a traffic officer by his collar over traffic congestion at Mukwano Mall in Kampala.
The promise by the Minister came after the Nakaseke Central legislator Mr Allan Mayanja pressed him to explain.
“We need clarity on this. Who is in charge of traffic in this country because we have been seeing these things and they are recurring where military officers keep humiliating police officers especially on instances related to traffic matters on the road?" Mr Mayanja asked.
In response, Mr Oboth who led a team of UPDF officers to appear before the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, acknowledged that this is the first incident involving an officer within the UPDF.
“That has been brought to our attention. It is just going to be investigated and it is going to be the last one. So UPDF will handle it. We want harmonious existence and respect for all other officers," he said.
This is not the first incident where UPDF officers are misbehaving on roads. In January this year, another traffic officer was shot in the leg by a UPDF soldier who found him towing to police a military vehicle that had been involved in a road crash.
The bullet damaged the artery in his leg prompting medical experts to amputate it.
In 2019, Major General Matayo Kyaligonza and his bodyguards assaulted Esther Namaganda when she stopped them from making a u-turn in the middle of the road in Seeta.
