URA officials shoot one dead, injure three during an operation
The deceased was shot in the stomach.
By Moses Alinda
Madi Okollo: One person has died and three others are still nursing severe wounds at Nebbi hospital after the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) enforcement team rained bullets on civilians in Okollo town council, upper Madi County, Madi Okollo district, on Wednesday afternoon.
The deceased has been identified as Acidri Moses, a resident of Pamachi village, Adra parish in Offaka Sub County, who passed away on Wednesday evening after being referred to Nebbi main hospital.
He was shot in the stomach.
Others who are still hospitalized include Patizuyo 13, Opari Derrick, aged 22, and Hope Night, aged 26.
According to an eyewitness, Patrick Atiku, the councilor of Ogoko subcounty in Madi Okollo district who was at the scene, the shootings lasted for more than 20 minutes before the enforcement team drove off towards Nebbi district.
‘‘The community members were making noise, and I rushed to them only to find that Moses had been shot in the stomach, and we looked for the way to rush him to Okollo Health Center, seeing in the corridor that another girl between 13 and 14 years old had fallen down after her left leg had also been shot. Another gentleman between 19 and 20 years old had also been shot on the right leg. We thought they were finished, only to see another herdsman commonly called Balalo also being brought and having also sustained injuries,’’ he explained.
Jackson Bandung, a concerned youth in Madi Okollo who also witnessed the incident, says they demand URA meet all the expenses of the burial of the deceased and those who are still in the hospital.
He further says the families of the affected should be compensated, and URA should use proper means of educating Ugandans on the importance of paying taxes other than ending the lives of tax payers.
We could not get a comment from Josephine Angucia, the West Nile Regional Police Spokesperson, by the time of publication.
The mayor of Okollo town council, David Agbara, has condemned the act and said the manner in which the enforcement team is operating retards the country back to the old days.
He appealed to the commissioner of Uganda Revenue Authority to regulate the enforcement of collecting taxes, especially from the rural community.
The Woman Member of Parliament for Madi Okollo district, Joan Aniku Okia, in her statement to the people of Madi Okollo, condemned the manner in which the incident happened.
She has requested that the people of Madi Okollo remain calm and wait for the outcome of the meeting with the various stakeholders.
The URA has been previously accused of using excessive force, leading to injuries and fatalities, triggering public outrage and confrontations.
In the month of November 2023, the URA enforcement team shot 24-year-old Jackson Geriga from Menya village, Ponura parish, Lobule sub-county in Koboko district.
After 3 days of enforcement in Arua City, Margret Ondia, a resident of Ayoo village in Adra parish, Offaka subcounty, Madi Okollo district, died in an accident after the drivers of URA vehicles parked and blocked half of the road next to Rhema hospital as they were chasing a fuel dealer and left two others hospitalized.
In March 2021, the URA enforcement team shot one person in Koboko district. In June 2021, an enforcement officer was beaten to death in Ayivu East after it was alleged that the vehicle of the URA knocked someone in Ayivu East dead.
In September 2021, two incidences happened in Arua district, which left two people injured and one person, Jurua Bosco, a resident of Ayaka village, Omoo parish, in Arivu subcounty, shot dead by the URA enforcement team.
In March 2022, a bodaboda rider named Badru Ajiga, 27 years old, lost his life after being shot dead in Koboko by the URA enforcement team.
The incident left eight other people injured during the fracas.
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