Lt. Col. Juma Seiko on Sunday shot and injured at least four people in Kalerwe, Kawempe Division following a motor vehicle accident.
The flamboyant Seiko was arrested and taken to Kawempe police station on charges of attempted murder after he opened fire when a driver of Fuso truck registration number, UAF 293T knocked his vehicle, a Toyota Alteza registration number UBD 890H. Seiko was heading towards to Mbuzi off Gayaza road.
According to eyewitnesses, following the accident, Seiko blamed the truck driver, Ali Jjuko for the accident and ordered him to "sit down." Jjuko reportedly defied the 'order' and told Seiko to wait for traffic officers to sort out the issue. It is at this point that Seiko allegedly shot Jjuko in the leg.
Angry residents who had watched the altercation all along then pounced on Seiko and attempted to lynch him, blaming him for misusing his gun. He then fired more bullets that hit Joseph Lule (a taxi driver) and Zimula Kasirye a bicycle taxi rider. The identity of the fourth victim wasn't readily available.
Seiko was arrested and taken to Kawempe police station where he was disarmed before being directed to record a statement. He was later released on police bond. Seiko said shortly after being released that he opened fire in self-defense because the injured wanted to grab his pistol.
"Even if am armed and I see somebody has pulled a gun, I keep off because you never know. But this man wanted to grab my pistol and he bit me. How do you bite an officer? How do I fight a big crowd because I did not have an escort?" Seiko said.
Seiko is not new to cases of gun misuse. In 2019, his former bodyguard Alex Cherotich was sentenced to 35 years in jail for the murder of boda boda riders Lameck Ogwang and Fred Sembatya who were shot dead at Seiko's home in Nakaseo in 2016.
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