Shot Traffic officer in Intensive Care Unit after Losing Leg

Police Constable Robert Mukebezi who was shot by a Uganda People’s Defence Forces-UPDF officer in Kampala a few days ago, is currently admitted in the Intensive Care Unit-ICU at UMC Victoria Hospital after his leg was amputated.

Mukebezi was reportedly shot after a UPDF officer attached to the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence -CMI headquarters in Mbuya on Saturday as he attempted to tow a military vehicle registration number H4DF 1391 that had veered off the road and rammed into a signpost at Kobil Petrol Station along Kiwatule Road.

Initial reports indicated that during the process of transferring the accident motor vehicle to the police for further inspection, a military response team also approached the scene in another vehicle, registration number H4DF 922, which was commanded by Major Okua Alpha. It's in the process that an officer identified as Corporal Babangida Bashir Mango drew out his gun and shot the traffic officer.

In the aftermath, the traffic officer was taken to Mulago Hospital but was later transferred to UMC Victoria Hospital in Bukoto where the medical team concluded that he needed to have his leg amputated, as the only option that was left in saving his life. The medical team said that the bullets shattered his major artery, a problem which could not be fixed with open surgery, or less-invasive options. The operation was completed on Tuesday.

Mukebezi’s colleagues in Police who were found outside the hospital on Wednesday said they were informed by the doctors that he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit after his condition deteriorated.

However, Bukooli Central MP Solomon Ssirwany told journalists after a visit to the officer that he was assured by the hospital administration that his situation was slowly improving. He said the matter which has caught the eyes of the speaker will be raised in the parliament, and a clear explanation from the UPDF will be needed.

//Cue in; “embela yekyali mbi…  

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A close friend to the family, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mukebezi’s leg wouldn’t have been amputated if he was given serious attention upon reaching Mulago Hospital, where he spent more than six hours without any medical attention.   

“The doctors did not pay much attention to him at casualty until we got information about the incident from his supervisor. By the time we reached the hospital and later transferred him to UMC Victoria Hospital, it was too late to save his leg," he said” 

//Cue in; “his mother has…  

Cue out... has been crying.”//

He is calling upon human rights defenders in the country to rise up against the matter for the justice of the victim and his family.  

//Cue in; “we need people…  

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Military Police, Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence and Police are reportedly still hunting Major Alfa Okua and his three accomplices on charges of attempted murder and obstruction of an officer on lawful duty. The suspect reportedly abandoned his gun at Bukasa village.