Africa-Press – Uganda. Four locals at Okollo Town Council in Madi Okollo District were severely injured by gun shots fired by UPDF soldiers deployed as the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) enforcement team.
The injured were shot as the enforcement team impounded numberless motorcycles in a trading center on Wednesday, according to eyewitness Patrick Atiku, the Ogoko Sub-county councilor in Madi Okollo District.
Three of the victims were shot in the leg while one was hit by a bullet in the stomach. Of the shot, two are barbers and a young girl who were all allegedly not part of the group that resisted the impoundment.
“In the afternoon, URA officials arrived to impound numberless motorcycles near the Electoral Commission office at Okollo trading center. As they did their work, I saw nobody resisted. But from nowhere, a stone landed on the road side,” Atiku claimed.
He added that: “The stone never touched any of the officers. However, they started firing bullets indiscriminately targeting the innocent people who were doing their own businesses.”
On Wednesday, Atiku accused the enforcers of aiming at him, adding that he “survived narrowly.”
“Later, they drove off towards Nebbi Town with impounded motorcycles and we rushed the injured to Nebbi Hospital for treatment,” Atiku explained
Asked to comment on the matter, URA’s Northern Uganda manager Simon Tumwesigye told that he had received information related to the incident.
“…but wait for a comprehensive response which we shall be issuing shortly. Police has also swung into action and so a report should be out soon,” he told this publication late Wednesday.
The January 3 incident is not the first time URA enforcers are clashing with civilians.
This is not the first time that the tax collection agency is involved in altercations with the locals. In November last year, one person died on the spot and two siblings were critically injured when a URA vehicle suddenly stopped, forcing the motorcycle on which the deceased was moving to knock the stationary vehicle.
Prior to that, a suspected smuggler was shot dead by URA enforcers in Koboko District at Saliamusala at the Uganda border with Democratic Republic of Congo. The two incidents triggered public uproar and confrontations.
Locals accused tax collection body officers of “always being trigger happy when dealing with suspected smugglers in the region.” There are no official records to show if any of the shooters have faced the law. .
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