Kampala Metropolitan Police have dismissed reports that Police Constable Coled Twesigye from Kyanja Community Police Post committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.
News about Twesigye’s alleged suicide started circulating on social media at around 10 pm on Sunday with many claiming the constable took his own life out of frustration.
However, a team of homicide detectives and crime scene officers from Kira road police station have since established that Twesigye’s shooting was accidental.
Quoting preliminary findings by detectives, Luke Owoyesigyire, the Deputy Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, says that Twesigye was checking guns he was going to handover to private security guards when he accidentally discharged a bullet from the chamber of one of the firearms.
Twesigye was in charge of the armory at Kyanja Community Police Post where both police and private security guards keep their rifles. An officer in charge of the armory must ensure that every gun they assign to members of the force is in good shape.
The officers are also expected to ascertain the number of ammunition in each firearm. A guard who was in custody at Kira road, says that they were also shocked when they heard a gunshot in the armory.
“When we peeped inside, we saw him breathing his last. We could not run away because we knew we had done nothing wrong. We instead called out bosses to tell them what had happened,” the guard said.
Upon receiving information regarding Twesigye’s self-extermination, homicide detectives arrested three private guards who had come for their rifles to report for night duties. The incident occurred a few minutes before 7 pm. The guards were released on Monday morning after examining the nature of the wounds on the deceased’s body.
This is not the first incident in Kampala where a police officer has accidentally shot himself. In 2022, Betty Achom, who was attached to Kawempe police station accidentally shot and injured herself during an operation to contain violent youths in Bwaise.
Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, said Achom had put the bullet in the chamber and accidentally touched the trigger thus hitting her left leg and ankle. URN
