Gunfire rocked Namanve Industrial Park yesterday afternoon as police moved to evict more than 500 encroachers from land belonging to Uganda Investment Authority.

Riot and regular police responded with random volleys of bullets fired into the air and lobbed tear-gas canisters when individuals, suspected to be among those who have illegally settled on the land, violently resisted eviction.

An unspecified number of individuals were reported to have been arrested in the ensuing melee. Several people were also injured, including a policeman who was hit on the head by a stone.

Eye-witness accounts indicate that some angry residents, who did not want to listen to police officers, came armed with machetes and sticks in a bid to fight back hence causing chaos, which prompted the heavy deployment.

According to the Kampala Metropolitan spokesperson, Mr Ibin Ssenkumbi, police assistance was requested by the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) after several attempts to get the encroachers off the land peacefully, failed.

“As police, we were requested by the UIA to help them in evicting the encroachers because they had been warned for long but in vain. That is why we came,” Mr. Ssenkumbi said. Police had to fire live bullets and tear gas to disperse the rowdy residents.

Source: https://mobile.monitor.co.ug/News/TodaysPaper/Police-forcefully-evict-encroachers-from-Namanve-land/691252-1505572-format-xhtml-5y7trrz/index.html

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