Uganda Army officers clobber NMG journalists covering Bobi Wine
Uganda Army on Wednesday beat up two Nation Media Group journalists who were covering an assignment involving opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine.
Of these two, NTV Uganda’s Cliff Wamala needed stitches at the back of his head to repair the injuries he’d sustained. Daily Monitor’s Irene Abalo was also injured, as was Timothy Murungi who is attached to the government-owned New Vision newspaper.
Other journalists who got injured include Josephine Namakumbi of NBS, Henry Sekanjako of New Vision, and Joseph Sabiti of NBS, among others.
The trio got into trouble with authorities for attempting to cover a procession by opposition leader Bobi Wine who was set to deliver a petition at the United Human Rights Council (UNHCR) in Kampala.
The youthful Bobi Wine, who came second in the country’s general elections in the contested January 2021 won by incumbent Yoweri Museveni, has announced he will petition the UNHCR over what he claimed was the continued abductions and torture of his party members and supporters by the state.
In a rejoinder, Police announced the opposition leader’s procession will be limited to three people.
“We have received information he is mobilizing his supporters to escort him on a procession to the UN offices, processions are banned due to Covid-19,” the Police said in a statement.”Ofcourse, permission has not been granted and whoever participates in such illegality will be arrested and prosecuted.”
President Museveni confirmed at the weekend his government was holding more than a hundred people who have gone missing since November. He claimed some of the arrested were ‘terrorists’ planning to cause chaos in the country during the electioneering period. But opposition leaders have condemned the arrests, terming them ‘kidnappings’ and unconstitutional.