Kikuube police are holding a soldier accused of assaulting a civilian. The suspect is Benjamin Ngabire from the 51 Battalion in Chepsikunya in Eastern Uganda. He is accused of brutally assaulting Emmanuel Twine, a resident of Nyairongo village, in Kabwoya sub-county in Kikuube district on December 14, 2023, before fleeing into hiding.
It is alleged that the soldier picked up a quarrel with his victim for unknown reasons as he was heading home from the Nyairongo trading center. Ngabire, who was dressed in a military jacket and armed with a baton reportedly beat Twine on his left eye with the baton inflicting deep injury on him. Twine sounded an alarm that attracted the residents to come to his rescue.
Desire Nkurunziza, the Nyairongo Village LC I Chairperson told Uganda Radio Network-URN in an interview that when residents responded to an alarm sounded by the victim, they found him unconscious and rushed him to a nearby clinic before he was later transferred to Hoima Regional Referral Hospital for specialized medical attention. He says the soldier immediately fled the area and went into hiding.
Julius Hakiza, the Albertine region police spokesperson has confirmed the arrest of the suspect, adding that the soldier was on a pass leave when he committed the crime. Hakiza says, after committing the crime, Ngabire went into hiding but he was tracked and arrested on Saturday last week by the police with the help of residents. He was immediately whisked to the Kikuube central police station where police charged him with assault.
URN.