Four Injured, 20 Motorcycles Recovered After Violent Clash in Rubanda District

NELSON K

Four people were severely injured and about twenty motorcycles rescued from a running river following violent clashes between residents and boda boda riders in Kacereere Town Council, Rubanda District.

The incident occurred today when more than thirty boda boda riders from Murutenga in Hamurwa Subcounty, led by their stage chairperson, stormed the home of the late Nyongozi in Nyamatembe Cell, Nyamatembe Ward. The riders were reportedly hunting for a motorcycle they believed had been stolen by a man identified as Nicholas Denis Boy, a son of the late Nyongozi.

According to Mr. Mbabazi Geoffrey, the LC1 Chairperson of Nyamatembe Cell, the group parked about thirty motorcycles in Nyarukoro Trading Centre before proceeding on foot to Nyamatembe Cell. Upon failing to find Denis or the suspected stolen motorcycle, the riders allegedly set fire to the family house and destroyed property.

Mr. Geoffrey said the violent attack provoked residents, who retaliated by attacking the boda boda riders with sharp tools, leaving four of them seriously injured. In anger, the residents also threw about thirty motorcycles belonging to the riders into the nearby Nyarukoro River.

Mr. Geoffrey added that he immediately contacted the Officer in Charge of Greater Bufundi Subcounty Police Station, who responded quickly to contain the situation. Reinforcements were later dispatched from Rubanda Central Police Station to help retrieve the motorcycles from the river and restore order.

Musinguzi Francis, the OC of Bufundi sub-county Police post, confirmed the incident, saying the fight stemmed from allegations that Nicholas Denis Boy had borrowed a motorcycle from a rider in Murutenga and disappeared with it. He confirmed that four boda boda riders were severely injured in the clash and that about twenty motorcycles were recovered from the river.

Musinguzi said the rescued riders and their motorcycles have been taken to Rubanda Central Police Station as investigations continue. Some of the boda boda riders are reported to have fled the scene on foot.