High Court Judge Jesse Byaruhanga Rugyema whose vehicle is suspected to have knocked down a traffic officer has trashed the allegations.
Announcing his death, Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson Patrick Onyango said PC Innocent Ayesigye was knocked on May 24, 2020, at Namanve along Kampala-Jinja highway and on May 26.
Now, in a statement, Byaruhanga has revealed that on his way from Zana to Mukono, he was in the company of his wife and bodyguard but as he approached Namanve, there was a traffic officer riding a motorcycle in front of him.
“Upon approaching Namanve SGA motor vehicle inspection facility about 200 metres from a road CCTV camera, i saw an incoming motor vehicle from Mukono side being driven at a very high speed knock the traffic officer who was on the motorcycle,” he narrated.
He said he was behind the traffic officer at a distance of about 100 metres which made him clearly see the incident.
He noted that the officer appeared to had tried to dodge a rough part of the road on his side and collided with the speeding car that left its part of the lane.
“Upon collision, I saw dust of glasses and fragments filling the atmosphere and the motorcycle flew to my vehicle on the driver’s side and scratched the vehicle as it rolled passed me,” Byaruhanga said.
He further explained that he stopped to assess the condition of the victim who had been thrown into a ditch on the left-hand side of the road.
“My bodyguard tried to pull the injured traffic officer from the trench but humanely failed. He complained to me that the traffic officer got broken legs and that without gloves he could not do much. We agreed that we needed to seek help,” he said.
Byaruhanga noted that he immediately rang a traffic officer known to him by the names of Aheisibwe on whom he had passed along Kinawataka road whom he asked to mobilise his colleagues to go and help the victim (now deceased).
He said the onlookers who had gathered around were photographing his car imagining that it is the one that knocked the traffic officer.
“I rushed to Seeta and I found a traffic officer called Acan and others on a patrol vehicle. I personally approached them and implored them to rush to the scene. I gave them my phone number for a follow-up. The police promised to alert me on every development and they rushed to the scene,” he said.
He added that the following day he rang the Aheisibwe for the updates and he was informed that the officer was retrieved and was being hospitalized.
“In the meantime, I started seeing information attributed to the police on the social media which was to the effect that it is my vehicle which knocked the traffic officer. That my vehicle and its driver are being sought. This shocked me,” he said.
Later, on Tuesday, May 26, Byaruhanga said he got a call from Ms. Acan of Seeta Police seeking his presence.
“I dispatched my bodyguard and a driver by the names of Hamis to take my vehicle to the police and for the bodyguard to record a statement. To my surprise, upon reaching police, both were immediately detained. With this kind of development, I suspected foul play. It appeared to me that police of all institutions wanted to take advantage of my position and malign us by embarrassing me,” reads an excerpt.
Byaruhanga who said he requested police to send an officer to take his statement was told to hold on.
Byaruhanga noted that he seeks clarification from police considering what he sees in the media.
“Why is police still holding my bodyguard and driver whom I entrusted to take the vehicle to the police so that he takes charge of it to avert any possibility of tampering with it. What offence have these 2 people committed?” he asked.
He further questioned the fact that police is not referring to any CCTV footage regarding the collision yet the accident occurred about 150 metres or thereabout from the camera?
The News Editor ,Reporter at Kagadi Kibaale community Radio
