Soldier guarding Jinja bridge kills colleague, puts others at gun point

There was a standstill at the Nile Bridge in Jinja district on Tuesday, when a soldier attached to Uganda People’s Defence Force, opened fire, killing his senior colleague.

The incident happened at about 2:00pm when Pte Jonan Katushabe, who is one of the guards situated at the bridge instantly opened fire, shooting his senior, Sgt peter Ouma.

The splash of bullets on Sgt Ouma threw him the river, where his body is yet to be recovered.

With Sgt Ouma put out of action, Katushabe put his colleagues at gun point and took them prisoners as means to escape the scene.

Following a tip of to the army command in Jinja, a group of soldiers were sent in quickly to surround the area with machine guns and a Mamba Personnel Carrier (APC).

For over 30 minutes, no motorist or pedestrian was allowed access to the bridge as the operation was mounted.

According to eye witnesses, Pte Katushabe who is attached to the marine brigade was earlier engaged in an argument with Sgt Ouma. He instantly opened fire and blew him into the river, before placing his colleagues at gun point.

These say that Pte Katushabe later started firing in the air to access an exit route, but he was too late, he was already surrounded by reinforcement.

Katushabe is said to have taken cover to elude the group, but they took him out using long range machine guns.

His body was collected by Police and taken to Jinja Hospital Mogue.

The Army spokesperson in Jinja, Capt George Musinguzi condemned the acts by Katushabe.

“We shall investigate the matter to understand his reason for committing such a grave act. However, we as the UPDF, this is not our means of operation and we condemn it.”