HOIMA, UGANDA: Police in Hoima district is holding 11 suspects in connection with the brutal killing of a Uganda Peoples Defense Forces-UPDF soldier in a bar.
The deceased was identified as Joseph Magoola who had been deployed to guard road construction equipment belonging to China Chongqing International Construction Company Limited- CICO, the company constructing the Hoima–Biiso-Butiaba-Wanseko road.
It is alleged that on Friday night at around 11 p.m, the soldier picked a quarrel with the other people who were gathered in Travellers Inn bar situated in Kigorobya I Cell, Hoima district. It is not clear how the quarrel started, but it resulted in a fight with the locals and he was eventually hit with a blunt object in the head. He was rushed for treatment at Kigorobya health centre IV but died on arrival.
Julius Hakiza, the Albertine region police spokesperson says that after the incident, police and the UPDF mounted an operation for the suspects who are believed to have participated in the killing and have since arrested 11 of them.
According to Hakiza, the suspects whose names have been concealed for fear of jeopardizing police investigations are currently detained at Hoima Central Police Station and will be arraigned before the courts of law on murder charges. He says they are also hunting for the bar owner who is currently on the run for allegedly operating his bar in total contravention of measures that were put in place to control the spread of COVID-19.
Bars across the country have officially been closed since the outbreak of COVID-19, to help curb the spread of the disease. However, many have defied the directive and continued to operate.
Do you have a story or an opinion to share? Email us on: [email protected] Or join the Daily Express WhatsApp channel for all the latest news and trends or join the Telegram Channel for the latest updates.
