But the bodyguard had refused to get off Gerald. He had seized him by the neck. His reward was death. Without a second thought, Gahima shot him in the forehead and he fell on his stomach. Three minutes after releasing the second bullet, a policeman committed suicide by trying to seize Gahima. Gahima’s sense of survival ordered him to shoot him in the head and he straight away died. Then, the gangsters ran in different directions. After running for about five minutes, a security man in casual wears seized the Gahima by the neck from behind. He suddenly saw a police patrol vehicle packing infront of him. He opened fire at it until the bullets were used up. “Until today, I do not know how many ‘poppies’ died in this battle. We used to call police officers ‘poppies’,” Gahima recalls. They thought the bullets were still in, as he remained holding the gun in position. Unfortunately, a man who was equally ruthless cut off his right hand. With his left hand, he instinctively pulled out a two-edged knife and pierced him in the stomach. All his intestines came out and blood jetted out of his body. In a second, Gahima’s shirt turned red. All of them were rushed to hospital. After one month of serious treatment, Gahima was transferred to Kanombe Military Hospital, where they asked him many questions, which when put together can make a book as big as a Bible. Still fresh in his mind were the questions of Major Gabo of Gako barracks. “What is your name?” Gabo asked. “I am called Major General Joseph Gahima,” he answered. “Are you mad?” he replied him after a couple of minutes confused by his question. “It is you who is mad to have had the courage of asking a senior officer like me such a funny question,” Gahima said. He marched away visibly filled with anger. He was ready for anything. He was certain they would kill him. Many different officers visited his ward. From time to time they persuaded him to tell them where his friends stayed and how many guns they had. These are some of the questions he will never answer until he dies. He just told them he was alone. Ends
