11 people have been arrested.

In connection with the violent killing of a Uganda Peoples Defense Forces-UPDF soldier in a pub, police in Hoima are holding 11 people.

Joseph Magoola, who had been assigned to protect road construction equipment belonging to China Chongqing International Construction Company Limited-CICO, the company building the Hoima–Biiso–Butiaba–Wanseko route, was killed.

The soldier is said to have picked a fight with other persons who were gathering in Travellers Inn pub in Kigorobya I Cell, Hoima district, on Friday night around 11 p.m. The cause of the quarrel is unknown, but it resulted in a brawl with the locals, and he was eventually hit in the head with a blunt object.

He was brought to Kigorobya Health Centre IV for treatment, but died there. According to Julius Hakiza, the Albertine region police spokesperson, after the incident, police and the UPDF launched an investigation into the suspects who are suspected of being involved in the death, and 11 of them have since been arrested.

According to Hakiza, the suspects, whose identities have been withheld for fear of harming police investigations, are now being held at Hoima Central Police Station and will be charged with murder in court. He adds that they are also on the lookout for a bar owner who is presently on the run for allegedly operating his establishment in direct violation of COVID-19 control measures.

Since the emergence of COVID-19, bars around the country have been closed to assist stop the spread of the disease. Many, though, have disregarded the order and continue to operate.