A fuel truck burst up in flames along Kampala-Jinja highway in the wee hours of Tuesday morning after a Local Defense Unit officer -LDU fired a stray bullet at the tank while trying to disperse a naughty crowd from drawing fuel.
The incident took place between Namwezi and Mbiko in Njeru Municipality Buikwe district .
Eyewitnesses claim at about 4 am the truck was parked at the roadside when a group of thugs stormed the fuel truck to steal fuel , in the process of the LDU shooting to scare them off he accidentally targeted the truck causing it to burst in flames.
Eyewitnesses claim at about 4 am the truck was parked at the roadside when a group of thugs stormed the fuel truck to steal fuel , in the process of the LDU shooting to scare them off he accidentally targeted the truck causing it to burst in flames.
Out of panic , residents within who were still sleeping were forced to wake up and storm out of their houses running to safety .
They alerted police who arrived in the morning after the situation had calm down.
The Ssezibwa Region Police Spokesperson, Hellen Butoto says the fire also gutted a Premio vehicle registration number UAH515D and motorcycle that had parked next to the truck.
Butoto says police have commenced investigations and is looking for the driver of the truck whose registration number was burnt beyond recognition.
