Ugandan Police and Interpol launched a manhunt for a Kenyan driver accused of running over a soldier in Busia.
The suspected smuggler, whose lorry had a Kenyan number plate, allegedly drove over a Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces soldier who had at the time intercepted the vehicle at Sofia “B” village in Busia Municipality, Uganda.
According to an eyewitness, the driver tricked the Ugandan soldier and a police officer into standing in front of the truck before knocking them down.
He then allegedly reversed and ran over the soldier before speeding off back to Kenya through the porous Busia border.
The corporal who was attached to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) enforcement unit died on the spot, while the police sergeant survived and was admitted to Mbale Regional Referral Hospital with multiple injuries.
UPDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Felix Kuliagye stated that they were coordinating with Kenyan authorities and Interpol to ensure justice was served.
“The Army and the police are working with Interpol to ensure that the suspects behind the crime are apprehended, even if they are in Kenya,” Kuliagye stated.
“We are also liaising with Kenyan Authorities to ensure that the truck is impounded," he added.
His juniors later announced that the truck, which was allegedly ferrying Motor vehicle tyres, was retrieved at a Busia resident's home.
The resident was arrested and detained at Busia Central Police Station to aid the police with investigations.
Police also recovered the soldier's gun and ferried his body to a nearby morgue, where an autopsy was conducted to ascertain the cause of his death.
The postmortem results attributed his death to internal bleeding and broken ribs injured by a blunt object.
