Why are guards on shooting spree?
Kampala City Uganda
Nearly a month into 2019, five incidents of private security guards shooting civilians or their colleagues have been registered in Kampala City and the metropolitan area. Five people have died and others injured.
The latest incident was registered at Nalubwama Arcade on Ben Kiwanuka Street in Kampala last week when a guard opened fire at civilians, killing a woman who was on a motorcycle and injured a Kampala University student.
The Kampala Metropolitan deputy police spokesperson, Mr Luke Owoyesigyire, identified the deceased as Brendah Bukoye, 36, a resident of Nsambya Railways and the injured as Ms Anita Nanyonjo.
Police say the suspect in his statement claimed he shot the victims in self defence suspecting they were planning to attack him and the facility he was guarding.
Eyewitnesses told police that the guard shot at civilians after vendors declined to bribe him.
“The guard was angry because we refused to pay him money for selling our merchandise around this place. We told him that KCCA (Kampala Capital City Authority) enforcement team had already taken money from us. He got angry and fired bullets,” Ms Sarah Nantuyi, a vendor, said.
Mr Owoyesigyire said eyewitnesses disputed the accused’s narrative.
“He (suspect) told us that he was being attacked by the crowd but eyewitnesses told us that the people he shot were on their own business,” Mr Owoyesigyire said.
Another vendor, who identified himself as John, claimed the suspect had been charging them money ranging from Shs500 to Shs1,000 in order to protect them from thugs since they often sell their goods up to midnight.
A detective, who preferred anonymity, claimed the suspect was found drunk and perhaps acted under influence of alcohol.
Vendors reportedly told police the accused would sometimes report on duty staggering, but the claim could not be independently verified.
Kyengera incident
The case came a week after police had arrested two guards for allegedly shooting dead two people in separate incidents in Kyengera Town Council and Mbuya in Nakawa Division.
Isaac Okwir, a guard, was arrested on accusation of killing Abubaker Kinene, 56, a mechanic and resident of Kyengera in Wakiso District.
The suspect was intercepted in Soroti District as he fled to his home in Pallisa District. Police say he abandoned his gun at his company headquarters in Ntinda after the crime.
The suspect allegedly shot dead Kinene as he passed near a soft drinks depot he was guarding.
It was alleged that at about 9pm the deceased passed near the depot and the guard pushed him into a trench and eventually shot him in the chest.
Kinene’s killing ignited a protest that led to the destruction of two vehicles parked at the depot. Residents threatened to burn the depot but police and army intervened.
Okwir has since been charged before court.
Mbuya case
Another guard, Dickson Rwothungeo, 28, was arrested for shooting dead Geoffrey Ogwang at a fuel station in Mbuya.
Ogwang is said to have been engaged in an argument with a pump attendant before the guard shot him in the chest killing him instantly.
Mr Owoyesigyire said the suspect later fled to Parombo Village in Nebbi District where he was arrested and brought back to Kampala. Rwothungeo was charged with murder and arraigned before court.
Bukoto incident
On January 2, a guard in Bukoto, Nakawa Division, picked a quarrel with his colleagues at work before he committed suicide by shooting.
Charles Okene purportedly shot himself hours after he had been calmed down by his colleagues.
Police said Okene was guarding together with his colleague at Atlantis Elegance Apartment on plot 3, Kimera close in Ntinda.
Although his suicide motive was not ascertained, his colleagues said in their police statements that the deceased had complained of domestic issues emanating from inadequate income.
Police said his colleagues would be interrogated to understand whether he killed himself or it was a homicide. However, to date, nothing has been confirmed and his colleagues, who had been arrested, were released.
Another incident was registered of a guard who shot his colleague at Old Kampala following an argument.
Mbarara
Incidents of guards killing people have not only happened in Kampala but also upcountry.
A guard in Mbarara District was arrested for allegedly shooting dead one person and injuring another on New Year.
The suspect allegedly shot Unis Sajja at close range on High Street in Mbarara Town for unknown reasons.
Police attributed majority of the incidents to alcohol, stress, poor pay, provocation by civilians, gaps in supervision by the guards’ employers, infidelity and unpleasant working conditions.
Mr Ronald Ssali, a journalist, cited an incident in 2017 when he survived being hurt by a guard at university.
“I walked through a [detector] machine but the guard asked me where I was going yet I had shown him my student ID. I asked him whether he was blind not to see that I was a student. He instead charged at me with his baton but I dodged it,” he said.
The guard collapsed 30 minutes later and was admitted at the university clinic only to realise he was drunk and hungry.
Police speak out
Asked whether the guards’ errant behaviour is a manifest of lack of proper training, Mr Owoyesigyire said police often supervise their training to ensure they are given necessary skills to handle guns.
He said the incidents happen due to individual challenges.
“It is not true that they get guns without proper training. But these are isolated incidents happening for a number of reasons, majorly personal issues,” Mr Owoyesigyire said, adding that some people disrespect the guards.
A senior detective at one of the police stations in Kampala, who preferred anonymity, said he has handled at least 10 incidents of guards who have been attacked or insulted by civilians.
He said majority of guards are deployed without observing the state of their health, citing an example of a guard who was found dead at a bus park on Namirembe Road.
“When we conducted a postmortem, we realised he had died of ulcers. Perhaps he had spent hours without a meal. We were told by witnesses that he took only popcorns for supper. But if their employers were observant enough, they would have seen that he was not in a good state,” the detective said.
The investigator added that some security companies take months without paying the guards, causing them to connive with thugs.
“Last year, I handled cases where thugs had broken into car bonds and offices in Kampala. Our investigations revealed there was connivance with security guards. They confessed during interrogation and all their reasons were insufficient and delayed payments,” the detective said.
