Riots start in Kampala suburb after shooting

Residents of Kalerwe -- a Kampala suburb -- rioted on 1 July 2008 after a botched routine arrest resulted in the shooting deaths of a bystander and an off-duty Special Police Constable (SPC). The unrest began when a suspected criminal resisted arrest, prompting the SPCs to fire warning shots into the air. A stray bullet from this scuffle struck a bystander in the head, killing him. Angry over the death, a mob quickly formed and threw stones at the police officers who were trying to recover the body. An off-duty SPC was killed when the on-duty police officers mistook him for a rioter and shot him. When the local police force was unable to handle the unrest, the military was called in to stop the rioting. Once officers recovered the bodies, the crowd smashed a police car and set it on fire. Two suspects were arrested in the incident. The riot lasted approximately two hours, during which time traffic on Gayaza Road between Kubbiri and Kyebando was forced to utilize alternate routes. An investigation is underway to determine exactly what happened at the scene; three SPCs have been suspended while the investigation is ongoing