Emmanuel Ikedit lies in Kamuli Hospital. PHOTO/ Tom Gwebayanga
By Tom Gwebayanga
A Police officer attached to Kamuli Central Police Station in Kamuli district is nursing serious injuries he sustained after a teargas canister exploded and blew off his hand.
His hand had to be amputated at Kamuli Hospital.
Emmanuel Ikedit, 33, suffered the mishap during the taxi drivers’ strike that affected Kamuli, Iganga, Jinja, Mbale, Bugiri and Tororo towns recently.
Eye witnesses say Ikedit opened the canister, but delayed to throw it at the rioters and it exploded, consequently blowing off his right hand. He was rushed to Kamuli Hospital, where the affected parts were cut off.
The district Police commander, Abraham Fulgence Betongyeza, blamed the accident on lack of experience.
In a separate incident, a Police officer also survived after he unscrewed a canister and put it in his pocket. His colleagues raised a hasty alarm which prompted him to throw it a few metres away before exploding seconds later.
The drivers were protesting a hike in traffic penalties that were introduced recently.
In Kamuli, scores of demonstrators were arrested and charged in court.
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