Policeman who shot Indian money lender in Kampala arrested

PC Wabwire who is now being held at Busia police station in eastern Uganda on murder charges killed Uttam Bhandari at Raja Chambers along Parliamentary Avenue in Kampala.

“A joint team of security traced the suspect to Busia District. On May 13, 2023, Flying Squad Unit joined the territorial police of Busia. On May 14, 2023 at around 7am, Wabwire was arrested in Busia Municipality at Customs by a joint team commanded by the DPC Busia SP Didas Byaruhanga,” said Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, SSP Patrick Onyango.

Footage retrieved from the crime scene shows PC Wabwire firing multiple bullets at Mr Bhandari at close range after a brief discussion. The other people who were in the office were seen running out for their lives.
Bhandari was the director of TFS Financial Services.
Police confirmed that the officer attached to Kampala Central Police Station had been servicing a loan of Shs2, 130,000 he acquired from TFS Financial Services in 2020.

Wabwire who has a history of mental instability, according to police, went berserk after failure to agree on the repayment plan for the loan he had acquired.
The 30-year-old officer who hails from Buwalira village, Bumunji Parish, Masinya Sub County, was in 2018 banned from possessing a firearm for six years after being admitted to Butabika Hospital twice over the mental breakdown.

His relatives say he started showing signs of mental instability in 2016, before he joined the Force.
Police said when they learned about his mental health issues, he was admitted to hospital for treatment, got well and discharged before he was deployed in areas that didn’t required him to be armed with a gun.
He allegedly stole the gun he used in the shooting from a fellow policeman and roommate, Steven Mulambo. Mulambo is also currently in police custody.