Police in Mukono is investigating circumstances in which one of their officers allegedly pulled a trigger of the pistol launcher that discharged a canister, which resulted into his death.
The deceased has been identified as Cpl Augustine Nkwasibwe attached to Police Field Force Unit (FFU) Mukono. The incident occurred inside a police detach next to Mukono District Headquarters on Thursday afternoon.
Deputy PRO KMP ASP Luke Owoyesigyire said Cpl Augustine Nkwasibwe succumbed to accidental injuries sustained while taking normal safety precautions of a pistol launcher at the Field Force Unit base in Mukono District.
Owoyesigyire added that after the incident, fellow officers tried to rush Nkwasibwe to hospital but he unfortunately passed on shortly after. The body was later transferred to Kawolo Hospital.
According to his close associates, Nkwasibwe went for his usual duties commanding a police patrol vehicle around Mukono town and neighborhood villages but at around 1pm, he came back for lunch and that’s when the incident happened.
His colleagues allege that as he was undressing, one of the new FFU personnel approached him asking to know how the pistol launcher works. In the process of making explanations, he accidentally pulled the trigger the pistol and the teargas canister came out it hitting the ground before it bounced back at him.
Available information shows that Nkwasibwe was enlisted into the Uganda Police Force on 10 October 1998. He will buried in Kanungu district.