Gunmen shoot dead UPDF soldier in raid on Jinja Barracks

JINJA, UGANDA: Police in Jinja District are investigating circumstances under which a UPDF sergeant was shot dead by unknown assailants who raided Gaddafi Barracks on Thursday evening and robbed two SMG rifles.

The deceased has been identified as Sgt. Eyamu Simon Peter, aged 45, who was manning the barracks checkpoint when the incident happened.

Police in a tweet on Thursday evening said the soldier was reportedly one of the guards at the barracks’ small gate when the attack happened.

“Please ignore reports that two police officers were attacked & killed in Jinja by unknown armed assailants. The alleged attack was against a UPDF officer manning the entry checkpoint at Gaddafi Barracks, who was killed and two guns robbed. The cowardly attack is being investigated,” a police tweet read Thursday evening.

The Police Spokesperson SCP Fred Enanga in an additional statement on Friday morning the assailants took advantage of the location of the mini-checkpoint, distanced about 1km away from the main checkpoint to Gaddafi’s main barracks, the green cover and the Ambercoat market access, which made the mini-checkpoint a soft target.

“They attacked the guard, stabbed him to the right chest and also shot him thrice, killing him instantly. The assailants robbed two guns and fled from the scene. The security barricade at the main Gaddafi barracks checkpoint was not breached,” Enanga said.

“Police has deployed full investigative resources, to reconstruct and document the scene. Our joint intelligence and operational teams are also building on their intelligence aimed at identifying and pursuing the assailants.”

This is the third attack on security agencies in less than a month.

This Monday 14 November, gunmen riding on a motorcycle attacked the police post at Kensington Apartments in Kyanja and fired bullets at the window of the police post but no police officer was injured in the debacle.

Last month, a group of eight armed thugs on October 31 invaded Busiika Police Station and shot dead two police officers on duty, injured two others, one critically, and thereafter, robbed two police guns from them.

Enanga said the body of the deceased has been transferred to Jinja Regional Referral hospital for further post-mortem analysis, and extended police condolences to the family, friends, relatives and workmates of the late Sgt. Eyamu Simon Peter.