The Kabale Regional Referral Hospital health worker Mohammed Byaruhanga is nursing wounds after he was on Sunday night clobbered to pulp by unidentified 3 people traveling in the Kabale RDC official vehicle Registration number UG 3314C as he left hospital from duty during curfew hours.
Byaruhanga said that at around 9pm as he was going home in lower Bugongi Kabale municipality, he met the vehicle a few meters from his home. It was then that a man seating in the passenger seat ordered for his beating and in no minute two men jumped off the behind cabin and begun harassing him seriously.
Byaruhanga said that immediately after being beaten, he then returned back for treatment at Kabale regional referral hospital before heading to police to file a report.
On reaching Kabale central police Station, the two police officers (unidentified) who were found at the reception refused to register his case after being interrogated for close to 40 minutes and on asking them why they were not writing his statement, they simply told him that “gyenda obimare na RDC” literally meaning go and finish your issues with the RDC.
When contacted, the Kabale Resident District Commissioner RDC Darius Nandinda denied knowledge of the incident saying that those accusing him are hooligans adding that when a person is beaten, he or she goes to police and reports a case which is later investigated by police.
“Those are hooligans I don’t know anything about that. If a person is beaten, he reports to police and police investigates, this is a police matter let them go to police and report it’s a police case if it’s my vehicle or for hooligans that did it. But for me, I don’t know that,”Nandinda said.
This comes at the time when health workers in Kabale, Rubanda district are accusing Security personnel for harassment during enforcement of the COVID-19 guidelines.
Health workers argue that security personnel enforcing the Covid-19 guidelines detain them and impound their motor vehicles and motorcycles despite being essential workers and having proper identifications.
Rugarama Hospital Medical Superintendent Gilbert Mateeka also says that last week, he was intercepted by security personnel in Kabale town while on his way to attend to a Covid-19 patient who is under Home Care Management.
Despite presenting his work identity card and explaining where he was heading to, Mateeka said that security personnel kept a deaf ear, arrested him and impounded his vehicle.
Alfred Besigensi the Kabale District Health Officer says that his office has received complaints of health workers being beaten by security officers who are enforcing Covid-19 guidelines.
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