By Peter Luzinda
Students and staff of Teso Progressive Academy in Ngora District were on Tuesday left in shock after a policewoman shot dead a Senior Three student and injured a teacher during an attempted arrest at the school.
According to eyewitnesses, the incident unfolded after the student, Gabriel Okiror, who had been accused of theft, resisted arrest by police officers called in by the school administration.
The school director, John Omugur, said the situation had escalated beyond what the staff could manage, prompting the administration to seek police intervention.
“Okiror had a case of theft at school, and the head teacher contacted the police. The officers came to pick the boy, but when they attempted to put him on a motorcycle, he resisted. He was very provocative and refused to cooperate,” Mr Omugur told journalists.
Witnesses say Okiror resisted being placed on the police motorcycle to be taken to Ngora Central Police Station, leading to a struggle during which the officer’s firearm discharged.
The bullet fatally wounded Okiror and struck a teacher, Bernard Majja, who had stepped in to calm the situation.
Mr. Majja is currently admitted at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital in critical condition.
The body of the late Okiror has since been taken for a post-mortem examination.
By press time, the Uganda Police Force had not yet issued an official statement on the incident.