Following the recurrent scuffles between army officers and traffic police officers, many Ugandans have been left confused about the cause of the bad blood between the two government civil services .
Besides the Monday morning incident in which a traffic officer was held and dragged by a UPDF soldier after refuting their right of way orders in Nakasero, a one constable Robert Mukebezi was shot by a UPDF soldier in January this year. He was still nursing wounds when the UPDF ordered Victoria UMC hospital to stop the treatment.
Mukebezi who was receiving treatment on the account of UPDF had his leg amputated after gunshots were fired to his leg, as he was trying to tow a wrecked UPDF vehicle. It's reported that three soldiers jumped off their escort car and after an altercation, one shot him in the leg before driving away and leaving Mukebezi bleeding by the roadside.
Apparently, he was given 1.6 million shillings for treatment. When he went back for more help, he was dismissed on account that he had to first present the accountability for the 1.6 million given to him.
“This police officer was shot during his line of duty and not by any person like a civilian but a UPDF soldier and for Uganda Police to give him 1.6 million shillings! Is this what they give their officers that have been hurt during the line of duty? Olive Najjuma, The Fatboy Show presenter on RX Radio wondered.
She went on, “there are so many questions and few answers. Why is the UPDF stopping the treatment? Because don't we have enough to go around? We just had these pompous, glitzy and glamorous birthdays, can't we spare some of that money to treat someone that was shot by an irate army officer?”
In narration of his ordeal to the media, Mukebezi said that he is unable to pay his medical bills due to his situation and neither does he know where he will get school fees for his child yet to return to school and to take care of his toddler.
In comment to the unfortunate situation the Police officer was undergoing, James Onen alias Fatboy proposed that Mukebezi get a good lawyer to sue the government and to get the justice he deserves.
“I actually think there’s a very strong case because, how much did Ingrid Turinawe get because they touched her boob? She got hundreds of millions just for that. So, if someone gets these amounts of millions for her boob getting touched, what about someone who is actually shot and amputated during the line of duty?
According to Mukebezi, it's been five months since he was shot but the perpetrators of his suffering have never been brought to book.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive and Sarah every weekday from 6am to 10am on RX Radio.
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