In short
A Congolese soldier from Mahagi in Ituri Province has been stoned to death by the mob from Oga village, Kango Sub County in Zombo district.
A Congolese soldier from Mahagi in Ituri Province has been stoned to death by the mob from Oga village, Kango Sub County in Zombo district.
Patrick Ovuya was lynched by the mob on Monday after his unidentified colleagues shot dead a Ugandan trader at Adwangi market in Kango Sub County. The Congolese soldiers are said to have opened fire on the Ugandan traders on Sunday evening killing one of them identified as Hussein Opio.
After the incident two Congolese soldiers took off on a motorcycle and returned to Mahagi but traders mobilized and went to stage a road block at the border, where they found Ovuya and stoned him to death.
Lieutenant Mark Mutuno, the UPDF spokesperson for West Nile region, says because the first soldiers who opened fire and killed the Ugandan were also armed, traders suspected Ovuya to have been the one. He says police and UPDF were informed and they rushed to the scene only to find Ovuya already dead.
//Cue in: “So on Monday…
Cue out:…him to death.”//
Mutuno says Ovuya was disarmed by the mob and his Sub-Machine Gun was was handed over to the police with 38 rounds of ammunition. Ovuya’s body was taken to Nyapea hospital for postmortem and later handed over to a team of Congolese soldiers after they were sent by the district commissioner of Mahagi.
Zombo Resident District Commissioner Rasul Aluma, who arbitrated between the Congolese soldiers and Ugandan security agencies, says at first the Congolese wanted to retaliate, but when they were informed that a Ugandan trader had also been killed they abandoned their plan.
He however condemned the residents’ acts saying they would have arrested the soldier and handed him over to the security instead of killing him.
None of the suspects in the killings has been arrested.
This is not the first time Congolese soldiers have crossed to Ugandan markets in West Nile to attack the traders. In August last year, a soldier from Congo also stormed Kampala market in Logiri sub county, Arua district and opened fire on traders, injuring 55 of them. He escaped back to Congo after the incident.
Patrick Ovuya was lynched by the mob on Monday after his unidentified colleagues shot dead a Ugandan trader at Adwangi market in Kango Sub County. The Congolese soldiers are said to have opened fire on the Ugandan traders on Sunday evening killing one of them identified as Hussein Opio.
After the incident two Congolese soldiers took off on a motorcycle and returned to Mahagi but traders mobilized and went to stage a road block at the border, where they found Ovuya and stoned him to death.
Lieutenant Mark Mutuno, the UPDF spokesperson for West Nile region, says because the first soldiers who opened fire and killed the Ugandan were also armed, traders suspected Ovuya to have been the one. He says police and UPDF were informed and they rushed to the scene only to find Ovuya already dead.
//Cue in: “So on Monday…
Cue out:…him to death.”//
Mutuno says Ovuya was disarmed by the mob and his Sub-Machine Gun was was handed over to the police with 38 rounds of ammunition. Ovuya’s body was taken to Nyapea hospital for postmortem and later handed over to a team of Congolese soldiers after they were sent by the district commissioner of Mahagi.
Zombo Resident District Commissioner Rasul Aluma, who arbitrated between the Congolese soldiers and Ugandan security agencies, says at first the Congolese wanted to retaliate, but when they were informed that a Ugandan trader had also been killed they abandoned their plan.
He however condemned the residents’ acts saying they would have arrested the soldier and handed him over to the security instead of killing him.
None of the suspects in the killings has been arrested.
This is not the first time Congolese soldiers have crossed to Ugandan markets in West Nile to attack the traders. In August last year, a soldier from Congo also stormed Kampala market in Logiri sub county, Arua district and opened fire on traders, injuring 55 of them. He escaped back to Congo after the incident.
