Moses Tiyoy, a resident of Kastoy village in Benet Sub County in Kween District is nursing a bullet wound after being shot by Uganda Wildlife Authority-UWA rangers for allegedly trespassing inside Mt. Elgon National Park.
Fred Chebet Wire, the former Benet Sub County LC 3 chairperson told Uganda Radio Network that UWA rangers were on routine patrol inside the national park from the Kween side when they found they allegedly Tiyoy inside the park on Tuesday evening.
According to Chebet, the Tiyoy is believed to have entered the National park in search of his two cows that went missing on Monday night and he suspected that they might have been stolen and hidden inside the park. Cattle thieves always use the park as a hiding zone.
“He was shot in the right leg and he couldn’t move but was never arrested by the rangers,” said Chelangat. He said the victim was rushed to Kapchorwa Hospital on Tuesday Night.
Chelangat reminded UWA to respect the rule of law, saying that they should have instead apprehended the suspect.
He also advised citizens to avoid illegal entries inside the National Park to avoid conflicting with the rangers, which has led to the loss of lives in the past.
Bashir Hangi, the UWA Public Relations Officer, confirmed the incident, saying that the suspect was injured by a stray bullet fired by one of the rangers as they retreated to avoid being lynched by the suspect.
“It is true that he was shot by our rangers and we regret the incident,” said Hangi on a phone call.
He, however, asked the community to be law-abiding citizens, saying that the National Park is out of bounds without authorization from UWA. David Chemonges an opinion leader in Benet dismissed UWA’s claims that the gunshot victim turned unruly and attempted to cut the rangers with a cutlass.
Neslon Chemangei, one of the residents also refutes claims that the gunshot victim resisted inside the park and accuses the rangers of unprofessional conduct.
“What these rangers nowadays do is to discharge a bullet instead of apprehending the suspects.
On October 18th, 2023, Wildlife Authority-UWA rangers shot a teenager and two adults trespassing and grazing animals inside Mt. Elgon National Park in the Bukwo district side.
