Killing of Indian lender by policeman shocks Uganda

Authorities in Uganda are searching for a rogue police officer who shot a money lender dead in a brazen attack that has shocked the country.

The attack occurred on Friday. President Museveni on Saturday demanded answers from the police, wondering why the officer had access to a gun despite his history.

CCTV video footage online showed a uniformed officer armed with AK47 opening fire in an office as customers scampered for safety. The man then walked calmly outside and returned to fire more shots at his victim before leaving with some papers.

Police identified the suspect as Ivan Wabwire and the victim as Uttam Bhandari, an Indian national, according to Kampala-based Monitor newspaper. It said the incident occurred in the capital.

Local media said after the shooting, the policeman surrendered the gun at a nearby police station before vanishing.

Police said the suspect first went the lender’s office to ask how much he owed the company.

“They calculated and told him he owed the company Shs2, 130,000 (N260,762). Yesterday, he said the bank where they are paying his salary from wanted the calculations so that they can offset all the loan and see how they could progress with him,” Mr Onyango explained.

The man rejected the figure and first shot at a CCTV camera inside the office before attacking the lender, according to Mr Onyango said.

– Seeking answers

Police said due to the suspect’s medical conditions, he was not allowed to bear arms for the past six years. He reportedly used his colleague’s weapon to carry out the attack.

President Museveni wondered why the police leadership had not acted given Mr Wabwire’s mental state and questioned how an off-duty policeman accessed a gun.

“How are guns stored in the police? Did he (Wabwire) walk away from his guard post without permission with a gun to commit crime? Is there no security at the site where the victim (Bandhari) was? Why did the local security allow an armed person who had no guard business into the building?” he tweeted on Saturday.

– Loan shark

The attack took place barely two weeks after one of Uganda’s ministers was shot dead by his bodyguard.

Police assured the Indian community they will protect all business communities.

High risk digital lending has grown in Africa in recent years as loan conditions for legacy banks become more stringent.

Recovering the loans, usually with expensive interests, are often problematic. But attacks on lenders are rare and hardly reported.

Attention has focused more on how borrowers are subjected to abuse by debt collectors who use their personal data to threaten and shame them.

In April, Google announced it will further tighten its policies for loan apps on its Play Store to protect users from predatory behaviour.