Two policemen exchange fire after bar brawl, one dead

Bukedi South Regional Police Spokesperson, Mr Moses Mugwe said Inspector of Police (IP) Moses Okwele and Assistant Inspector of Police (AIP) William Ochom exchanged fire following a disagreement over a barmaid at a drinking joint in Petta Sub County, Tororo District on Wednesday (January 31) at around 9pm.

He said both officers had been deployed at Petta Police post before the shooting happened.
Eyewitnesses told police that after the disagreement, IP Okwele walked out of the bar quietly but returned minutes later armed with an SMG riffle. He shot and injured AIP Ochom who returned the fire killing instantly.

IP Okwele succumbed to bullet wounds in the stomach while AIP Ochom was rushed to Tororo General Hospital where he’s currently nursing injured legs. By the time of filing this report, there were plans to evacuate AIP Ochom to Mbale regional referral hospital while AP Okwele’s body was still lying in the hospital mortuary awaiting postmortem.

“It’s unfortunate that we lost the officer but we have initiated the investigation to ascertain the real cause of the shooting. We pray that the officer who shot dead his colleague survives to help us get to know why they got involved in a disagreement,” said Mr Mugwe.

He said the killed officer’s body was found lying in a pool of blood.