Swiss national fails to explain illegal gun
Jul 02, 2014
A Swiss national who was arrested for threatening a senior government official with a pistol has failed to explain its source.
By Simon Masaba
A Swiss national who was arrested for threatening a senior government official with a pistol has failed to explain its source.
Ulirich Meyer, 63, a resident of Bukasa in Makindye division, was arrested Monday after he drew a pistol and aimed it at Robert Muchunguzi, a senior procurement officer in the Office of the Prime Minister for reportedly refusing to make a U-turn in the middle of the road.
The incident occurred along the Bunga-Kawuku road junction in Makindye division.
"He moved out of his car with a pistol and attacked me. I pleaded for my dear life and he later left," he said. Mucunguzi then reported the matter to Ggabba Police post, which tracked down Meyer. Police also recovered 30 rounds of ammunition from him.
"I declined to make a U-turn in the middle of the road. It is unacceptable, a decision my attacker wanted me to make hence pulling out his gun and pointing it at my right ear," Mucunguzi told New vision.
Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango said: "He claims to be a tourist who has lived in the country for only two weeks but police investigations reveal that the suspect was constructing a home in Bukasa and the work has been going on for months," Onyango said.
He added that, "The suspect claims to have come with the pistol from Switzerland, which the Police have refuted saying no gun can pass through the airport without intervention of security.
"He has no documents to authenticate the possession of the gun. All the serial numbers on the gun were tampered with, raising questions about its authenticity," Onyango said.
Following his arrest the Police conducted a search in Meyer's hotel room where he was found with his girlfriend; his passport and other documents were recovered.
"In his recorded statement with police the suspect acknowledges to be a Swiss," Onyango said.
"The passport is at Ggabba police post and the officers handling the matter are on special duty, they can't avail me with details at the moment."
Meyer regretted the act saying it was an act of anger as he pleaded for forgiveness while being paraded before the media at Kabalagala police station on Monday. He said he was in a rush and needed to avoid the traffic jam.
He is detained at Kabalagala on charges of illegal possession of a fire arm and threatening violence. Onyango said during interrogations, the suspect was giving contradicting information on the source of the gun and his intentions in the country.
"We are also probing for the source of the gun," Onyango said. He said police is appealing to all foreign nationals who have guns that are not authenticated by government to report to the nearest police stations for further briefing.
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