Gulu High court on Tuesday sentenced a police officer to three years in jail for killing his own colleague during an operation.
Bosco Luke Okwera, 29, was charged with murder. On Tuesday he appeared before Lady Justice Mutonyi in connection with the death of Corporal Sam Onyuk.
Prosecution led by William Bayo, alleged that on August 29, 2013, at Pageya along Gulu-Moroto road at around 8:30 pm, Okwera, a police constable No. 50112 shot dead Onyuk.
Bayo told court that Okwera discharged a bullet which fatally wounded Onyuk leading to his death.
Okwera was in the company of other police officers, a unit that was dispatched to carry out an arrest in Paicho Sub County, Gulu district.
Corporal Onyuk was the team leader in charge of the night operation.
In his statement, Okwera says he heard several gunshots after their vehicle was involved in accident.
He adds that this forced him and other police officers in the patrol car to scamper for their life. Okwera claims that he jumped off the car and later learned that Onyuk was shot.
Okwera says he later used another vehicle to return Gulu town after the police patrol car abandoned him in Pageya, the scene of the gun shootings.
Onyuk later died of his injuries after he was rushed to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital. Okwera was charged with murder contrary to section 188 and 189 of the penal code act.
Lady Justice Mutonyi ruled that the death of Onyuk was accidental considering the circumstances under which a live bullet was discharged.
Lady Justice Mutonyi explained that a bullet from Okwera’s gun went off after an accident adding that she found that Okwera did not have intention to kill.
Mutonyi, however handed Okwera a 3-year-jail term on ground that as a trained police officer, he failed to handle a gun in a manner which portrayed professionalism.
