Guard shoots staff dead at sugar factory in Lugazi

Police in Buikwe District are holding a private security guard who allegedly shot and killed an employee of Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited (Scoul) after suspecting him to be a thief.

The 30-year-old security guard, working with Spytech Security and Guards Ltd, gunned down 27-year-old Ivan Onenchan Ivan who was also working in the security department.

Spytech Security and Guards Ltd is one of the private security companies hired by the Lugazi based factory.

Oumo claims that he found the deceased attempting to remove a battery from one of the parked trucks as he routinely patrolled in the night.

Earlier, on-scene CCTV footage seen by this publication showed the suspect shooting the victim from close range, even as he raised both his hands in what’s commonly seen as a sign of surrender.

But the suspect shot Onenchan at the left hand and the lower right stomach before he fell down and died later.

The suspect who is currently detained at Lugazi Central Police Station emphasized to law enforcers that he shot Onenchan after the latter “declined to identify himself.”

"I asked him to identify himself, and also tell me what he was doing in the parking lot at such an awkward time. He [deceased] didn't respond. Instead, he was moving towards me with the intention of grabbing my gun, and it was from here that I shot him,” he said on Wednesday.

Preliminary police investigations concluded that as much as the deceased might have had ill intentions, the security guard shouldn’t have acted unprofessionally while doing his work.

Sezibwa region police spokesperson Hellen Butoto told Monitor that they are gathering facts, including CCTV footage, to help in the ongoing investigations.

“We are investigating the case bit by bit to establish what exactly happened. In the suspect’s statement, he claims that the deceased wanted to grab his gun. This is a very common excuse among armed people,” she noted, adding “that is why we are doing our investigations professionally until we get what we want, and there after take action basing on our findings.”