Holder of killer gun dismissed from police

Police Constable (PC) Steven Mulombo, whose gun was used by Mr Ivan Wabwire to shoot a moneylender on Parliamentary Avenue in Kampala has been dismissed from the Force.

According to police spokesperson Fred Enanga, the killing could have been avoided if the holder of the gun, PC Mulombo, had not left it unattended in the room that he shared with PC Wabwire.

“Our policy on the use of firearms demands that PC Mulombo should have returned the gun to the armoury before moving out of the station. But without lawful permission, he sneaked out of the station to attend to a personal matter, which is an outright case of gross indiscipline and negligence,” he said.

“As a result, he has been charged in the disciplinary court with discreditable conduct and has been dismissed from the Force this morning,” he added.

According to Mr Enanga, PC Mulombo is now a civilian and is going to be taken to the criminal court for negligence of duties as a civilian.

Mr Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, told the Monitor that PC Wabwire, who was deployed in CCTV monitoring centre, stole the gun from PC Mulombo who had kept it inside his room at the Central Police Station park yard.

Police said they have issued very stringent guidelines on gun handling and use of force by all their officers.

“We are identifying police officers for refresher courses on gun handling, scenario-based exercises, anger management and de-escalation techniques,” Mr Enanga told journalists yesterday.

According to police, these initiatives will help improve public trust and confidence and even promote better gun handling skills and improve community safety.

PC Wabwire was yesterday presented at Buganda Road Court to record an extrajudicial statement following his arrest on Sunday.

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