KAMPALA, UGANDA: Police in Kampala are actively investigating a shooting incident involving one of their police officers who allegedly shot dead Uttam Bhandari, a manager at TFS Financial Services along Parliamentary Avenue in Kampala, the country’s capital.
Speaking to journalists at the scene of crime on Friday afternoon, the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Mr Patrick Onyango said the shooter identified as Police Constable Ivan Wabwire allegedly first shot at the CCTV cameras in the bank before fatally shooting the bank manager.
Onyango said PC Wabwire who was serving two loans at the banking institution had come to verify his loan and interest amount but was angered when he was given a mismatching loan balance.
“On Thursday, May 11, 2023, Wabwire had come to the lender seeking a statement detailing his loans since his bank had wanted to offset the loan and discuss the way forward for its client. The calculation arrived at a figure of about Shs2.13m.”
According to Onyango, when Wabiwire returned today (Friday, May 12), he again asked to know how much the bank needed from him and after the manager told him it was still Shs2.13m, he started arguing and quarrelling and insisted that he could not believe that was the amount he was supposed to pay.
“They told him the amount (loan balance) and he started arguing, he could not believe that’s the amount he’s supposed to pay. According to one of the workers who were inside the room, the police officer shot at the cameras (CCTV cameras), so when he shot the camera, everybody who was inside took off,” he added.
“After the shooting, he jumped on a boda and rushed to CPS Kampala where he abandoned the killer gun,” Onyango added.
The KMP Spokesperson further explained that the police officer was servicing two loans since 2020, one coded and deducted directly from his salary, and the second not, meaning that whenever he found money he would come and pay part of it.
The police publicist also quoted one of the eyewitnesses, a female worker who was inside the hall at the time of the shooting, as saying that PC Wabwire shot at the CCTV cameras, prompting all those who were in to scamper for dear lives.
“So, we still don’t know what happened there. We have called our CCTV team to come and try to retrieve the CCTV footage and analyze and see what exactly happened.”
Onyango said that after the shooting, PC Wabwire jumped on a boda boda bike and rushed to Central Police Station in Kampala where he abandoned the killer gun, an AK47 before taking off.
He however assured that police are already tracking him and will arrested.
“Uganda is very small when you have committed a crime. He will be got at any time. It’s very unfortunate that an officer of that calibre would resort to shooting instead of resolving the matter amicably.”
By press time, Bhandari’s body had been conveyed to Mulago city mortuary as investigations into the shooting continue.
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