In the Ugandan town of Kisoro, Kuntaj Patel, 24-years old Indian-Gujarati businessman was shot and killed, allegedly by a police officer.
Elly Maate, the regional police spokesperson, Police constable Elioda Gumizamu, 21, a member of the Field Force Unit (FFU) has been charged with murder, after he stromed a hardware shop last week, where Patel worked and fired at him. The accused policeman along with other persons, who are yet to be tracked, shot the Gujarati businessman in the chest at around 2pm on Thursday.
The policeman was intercepted and arrested. He’s currently detained at Kisoro police station for interrogation to establish the motive.
Maate said that “The victim was taken to St Francis hospital in Mutolere in Kisoro District in critical condition”.
Hours later, Patel succumbed to the gunshot wound, police said.
According to reports, Gumizamu told police that he killed Patel in a case of “mistaken identity”. He told police further that he was given the “contract to kill” the owner of the hardware shop, Patel’s cousin.
One of the eyewitnesses, Gilbert Mwiseneza, a casual worker at Kuntaj’s shop said he and his boss were attending to a client when the armed officer walked in and aimed the gun at his boss before firing a bullet that hit him in the chest.
“After the shooting, he (policeman) tried to run away but he was intercepted by people who gave chase,” Mwiseneza said.
The Kisoro Resident District Commissioner Shaffique Sekandi condemned PC Gumizamu’s action saying he had been in the Force for four years. The incident came after two Indians were reportedly killed in Kenya months after they were abducted. It is learnt that the Kenyan government has not said anything officially on the report.
Indian High Commissioner to Kenya, Namgya Khampa, met Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto and requested him to expedite the investigation into the matter, the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi.
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