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Man shot dead by UWA rangers
What you need to know:
UWA bars residents of the neigbouring districts of Kanungu, Rukungiri and Rubirizi from the park to protect wild life.
Rukungiri. The police are investigating a case in which a man hailing from Rushaya village in Bwambara Sub County was shot dead by Uganda Wild Life Authority (UWA) rangers in Queen Elizabeth National Park last week.
Kenneth Akampurira 36, was shot on the head while fishing on River Ntungwa last Friday at around 10 am, the Police Spokesman for Kigezi region Mr Elly Maate said today. River Ntungwa flows through Rukungiri to Queen Elizabeth NP and pours into Lake Edward.
UWA bars residents of the neigbouring districts of Kanungu, Rukungiri and Rubirizi from the park to protect wild life. However, from time to time the locals try and access the park illegally for poaching. Some have disappeared from the park never to be seen again.
Mr Maate said that on the fateful day Akampurira was fishing with two colleagues Mr Johnson Bakama and Mr Dickson Karamanga but the two escaped unhurt. They reported the incident to the area LCII Chairman Mr Kenneth Wagaba who informed police. Mr Maate said marine police recovered Akampurira’s body from the river on Monday and was handed to relatives for burial after carrying outv a postmortem. “Inquiries into the matter are going, Mr Maate said.
UWA Communications Officer Mr Bashir Hangi said he was not aware of the rangers shooting the man. “I’m not aware of the shooting by our personnel, I only hear it in roumors,” Mr Hangi said.
The LC5 Chairman Rukungiri Mr Andrewson Katebire asked UWA rangers to stop killing people. “There is poor supervision of rangers by their superiors. We condemn these killings and UWA rangers should stop it,”
he said.
Some of the cases of disappearance of poachers in Queen Elizabeth NP On October 16, 2015 four people: Julius Tindiwengi 53, Benard Byaruhanga, 38, Yosia Oworinawe, 42, and Jackson Nyesigire, 35 from Kikarara parish Bwambara Sub county left their homes for fishing in Lake Edward in Queen Elizabeth Park but have never been seen again.
On June 25, 2018 four people: Vincensio Busingye 47, Julius Mateso 27, Didas Byamugisha, 40 and Asaph Mbyemire 48, from Kicwamba and Magambo Sub counties in Rubirzi district disappeared Queen Elizabeth National Park where they had gone for poaching and have also never been seen again.
Frantic search by police and locals working with UWA never yielded results.
Speaking in Rubirizi on September 20, 2018 President Yoweri Museveni described the killing of unarmed poachers as terrorism and described poachers as “thieves” who should be arrested and not killed. “I got annoyed to hear that park officials killed [four] people. Those who go for poaching, you are doing wrong. A thief is not supposed to be killed, rather is supposed to be arrested and imprisoned. That is how NRM works,” Mr Museveni said.
