Johannesburg: A 24-year-old Indian businessman has been shot dead in case of 'mistaken identity' allegedly by a police constable, who was given 'contract to kill' the owner of the hardware shop, in Kisoro town of Uganda, according to a media report. The deceased was identified as Kuntaj Patel.
Indian High Commissioner to Kenya, Namgya Khampa, met Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto and requested him for expediting the investigation into the matter, the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi.
The Kisoro Resident District Commissioner Shaffique Sekandi told the Daily Monitor that Gumizamu had been in the police force for four years. Patel, a native of Thasra in Kheda district, had moved to Uganda four years ago, along with his wife, to work in his cousin's hardware shop.
According to local media reports, Gumizamu told police that he killed Patel in a case of "mistaken identity". He told the police that he was given the "contract to kill" the owner of the hardware shop, Patel's cousin.
Police looking out for person who commissioned the killing
The Kisoro police station are now looking into Gumizamu's claim and are also on a lookout for the person who commissioned the killing.
Police constable Elioda Gumizamu, 21, from the Field Force Unit (FFU) has been charged with murder after he was apprehended and handed over to the police on October 27 while he was trying to flee the scene of the crime on the main street, The Daily Monitor newspaper reported.
Policeman along shot the person in chest in Indian hardware shop
The accused policeman along with other persons, who are yet to be tracked, walked into an Indian shop dealing in hardware and shot the Indian businessman in the chest at around 2pm on Thursday, Elly Maate, the regional police spokesperson, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
The policeman was intercepted and arrested. He's currently detained at Kisoro police station for interrogation to establish the motive. "The victim was taken to St Francis hospital in Mutolere in Kisoro District in critical condition," Maate said.
Hours later, Patel succumbed to the gunshot wound, police said, "One of the eyewitnesses, Gilbert Mwiseneza, a casual worker at Kuntaj's shop said he and his boss were attending to a client when the armed officer walked in and aimed the gun at his boss before firing a bullet that hit him in the chest."
Policeman tried to run away
"After the shooting, he (policeman) tried to run away but he was intercepted by people who gave a chase," Mwiseneza said. The Kisoro Resident District Commissioner Shaffique Sekandi condemned PC Gumizamu's action saying he had been in the Force for four years.
The incident came after two Indians were reportedly killed in Kenya months after they were abducted. It is learnt that the Kenyan government has not said anything officially on the report.
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