Garden Hills Shooting

G-Hills Settlers to be Resettled

The governor extended his sympathies to those who lost loved ones and property in the incident and said the killings and burnings were unnecessary and unacceptable.

“They were not targeted at a specific ethnic group, but at a community.”

He said he made a commitment two years ago to resettle the Garden Hills settlers and reiterated this in June of this year.

Millions Lost To Arson

They say this could have been avoided had the police arrived on time to control the situation.

The family, from Enga Province lost a trade store and their home in retaliation for deaths they were not connected to.

Jenny was one of the first residents of Garden Hills, having moved to the area 39 years ago. She and Peter raised their children there, building their property worth over K3 million.

Family Cries Foul

They said the reports that the deaths of the two were connected to the theft of a boombox was not true, as the two incidents are unrelated.

Speaking on behalf of the family, Daniel Emani said his family is not happy with the deaths being attributed to something that they were not responsible for.

He said the disturbances began on Thursday October 21, when the alleged shooter began terrorizing market vendors over money for a boombox that his son had given to youths in the area to sell for K500. The youths sold the boombox, but failed to give him the money.

Petty Crimes Blamed For Deaths

“Every time residents walk past this area, they are harassed, there is pickpocketing. This continued until last night, youths from the settlement snatched a boombox from residents. The boombox generation fought over a boombox and this led to the deaths.”

Met Supt. Ikumu said the officer allegedly involved in the shooting was ordered to remain at home while the matter is being investigated.

“Whatever the investigator says by the end of the day, whether or not there is substantial evidence to arrest the officer right away, then he will be arrested.”

Two Dead in Garden Hills Shooting

The deceased men are from Okapa in Eastern Highland Province while the injured woman is from the Central Province.

The family of the deceased want answers and are calling on police to arrest the rogue policeman.

According to witnesses claim, the police officer who is a resident of Garden Hills has a history of regularly terrorising residents of the settlement at the market.

“We were at the market selling our produce when the policeman came, took off his shirt and started threatening us with his weapon, chasing us all from the market,” said a woman seller.