Iganga, (UG):- Police in Iganga District are investigating the cause of a fatal accident which claimed the life of Hon Simon Peter Aleper, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Vice Chairperson for Karamoja on Tuesday morning.
Aleper, 50, was reportedly headed to Kampala from Mbale for official party (NRM) duties when his personal vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser V8 UAP 787Q collided with a yet-to-be-identified motor vehicle coming from Iganga to Mbale side.
Busoga East Region Police confirmed the report and said the two vehicles collided head-on at around 1:30 am at Bukoona village, Nakalama Sub County in Iganga District along Iganga-Tirinyi highway.
“His vehicle was moving to the Iganga side and collided with another unknown vehicle before it veered off the road and killed Hon. Aleper died instantly, ” Busoga East police spokesperson SSP Diana Nandawula said in a Tuesday statement.
Upon learning about the accident, police in Iganga responded and ferried the body to Iganga General Hospital Mortuary where it was picked up in the morning on Tuesday by the A-Plus Ambulance and taken to Mulago National Referral Hospital for postmortem examination.
“The body was ferried from the scene to Iganga hospital mortuary where it was picked and transferred to Mulago National Referral Hospital mortuary for postmortem” she said.
Ms Nandawula said that police have mounted a hunt for the driver and the vehicle that caused the accident while the wreckage of the deceased’s vehicle was toyed and taken to Iganga central police station pending inspection by the Inspector Of Vehicles (IOV).
The ruling party cadres and supporters, especially within Busoga rushed to the Iganga Hospital mortuary to confirm the sad news which went viral on social media platforms in the night and morning hours of Tuesday.
Meddie Gowa, the Office of the National Chairman (ONC) Coordinator for Bigiri District told DailyExpress that they were saddened to learn the the death of one of their own in the NRM and urged authorities to investigate the matter and hunt the perpetrator who was involved in the fatal accident.
Mr. Buyinza Abdulrahim, also ONC coordinator for Iganga district mourned the deceased as a committed servant and mobilizer of the NRM party in the Karamoja region and other parts of the country.
“I got a call from a colleague early morning about the sad news and I rushed here after learning that the body was at Iganga Hospital mortuary. He has been a jolly person and a good mobilizer of the party and we want to join the people of Karamoja in mourning the deceased chairman,” Mr. Buyinza said.
The Iganga District NRM Chairperson, Mr Abubaker Walubi, said the deceased was a close friend, and they bonded well when they travelled to China as NRM chairpersons in 2020.
“Since then, our friendship has remained intact. He was a very kind person who liked to see everyone happy. NRM party has lost a committed member who had the party at heart,” Mr Walubi said in a brief eulogy.
Other NRM cadres who responded to the incident included Mr Segero Ali, (ONC Informal Sector) Ms Rose Bakita (NRM District Committee) and Mr Abbey Saadi, the NRM Chairperson in Iganga Municipality.
The late Aleper recently contested for the Moroto municipality MP seat in the 2021 elections but lost to Hon. Francis Adome Lorika in the race which was one of the tightest in the Karamoja Sub-region.
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