A Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) officer serving with the UPDF Engineering Brigade committed suicide at Nakirebe, located between Wakiso and Mpigi districts.
The incident occurred around 2 PM on Wednesday in Nakirebe.
According to UPDF First Division Public Information Officer Maj. Charles Kabona, Lt. Ariho Amon (registration number RO/13999) was driving a black car, registration number UBJ 493 Q. He reportedly stopped his car at a football field, dispersed the players, retrieved his SMG rifle from the vehicle, and then took his own life.
Maj. Kabona stated that soldiers from a nearby detachment and police officers rushed to the scene and cordoned off the area. His phone and documents were recovered from his car.
Meanwhile, the UPDF Deputy Defence Public Information Officer, Col. Deo Akiiki stated that the UPDF has been actively training and deploying psycho-social support personnel to ensure counseling services are available to troops.
“The engineer took his life and we shall investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident. However, we need to inform the public that the UPDF in general has of recent trained a lot of personnel in psycho-social support and they have been distributed across all units to ensure that some soldiers and officers who have problems that are beyond their control are helped,” Akiiki said.
The body was transported to Mulago Hospital mortuary, while the gun and car were taken to Mpigi Police Station. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of this tragic incident.
