Entebbe Expressway shooting: Joint Christian Council urges government on security

In the wake of the gruesome shooting of two people by unidentified assailants, the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) has urged government to step up its efforts to fight insecurity in the country.

Merina Tumukunde and Joshua Ruhegyera Nteyireho who were traveling in a Toyota Prado Registration Number  UAW 534B  towards Mpala were gunned down at Nambigirwa bridge along the Kampala- Entebbe Expressway on Thursday night.

Addressing a news conference on Friday, the UJCC Executive Secretary, Rt. Rev. Archimandrite Constantine Mbonabingi said the acts of violence prevailing in the country should be condemned by every God-fearing person.

These actions are criminal, inhuman, cruel and barbaric. Genesis 9: 5-6. 5 says that if anyone takes human life, he will be punished. I will punish with death any animal that takes human life. Human beings were made like God, so whoever murders one of them will be killed by someone else,”Mbonabingi said.

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The man of God said government ought to work tooth and nail to ensure the problem of insecurity is worked upon so that the public gets confidence.

“I ask the security teams in the country to bring to book the perpetrators of these evil happenings and put a stop to bloodshed by increasing surveillance in all parts of the country,” he noted.

The man of God said violence causes damage to human and physical capital, undermines investment and production and leads to economic stagnation, insecurity and distortion of society and redirects resources to non- productive uses while causing a dramatic deterioration in the quality of life.

He noted that there are many guns in the hands of the public that he noted have resulted into the increased levels of armed crime in various parts of the country.

“It is very urgent that both the young population and communities get educated on the importance of maintaining peace so as to keep everyone safe. In this respect, it is particularly important for us not to sit back and watch, but to intervene and contribute, in terms of creating awareness and advocate for promotion of a sustainable solution that has the support of all the stakeholders, in regard to the killings in the country.”

He asked government to embrace peaceful resolution of conflicts and building bridges of peace in communities and the country at large.

Police on Friday afternoon announced they had arrested one of their own officer attached to the Counter-Terrorism unit over allegations that he might have participated in the gruesome shooting along the Entebbe Expressway on Thursday night.

Constable Davis Taremwa was arrested from Hidden Treasure Hotel in Entebbe.

According to Police spokesperson, Fred Enanga, preliminary findings indicate that Joshua Ruhegyera Nteyireho had earlier requested Taremwa who was on guard at Hidden Treasure hotel to escort him to Millennium hotel in Zana where he had arranged a business transaction.

The officer is said to have withdrawn from his beat and the three people drove to Zzana.

“The circumstances sorounding their movement from Millennium hotel up to the stage where the shooting occurred at Namibgirwa bridge. It is what the task team of investigators and forensic experts are working to determine,”Enanga said in a statement.