Bukomansimbi, 6th/August/2014, five people have been arrested in Bukomansimbi over violent assault of a Vision Group journalist Dickson Mutebi. He was covering a story of residents of Butenga village in Butenga Sub County protesting the manner in which Police has handled matters in which one Augustine Ssebuliba and Norah Nazziwa are accused of Human sacrifice and burial a body in a banana plantation.
Dickison the Vision Reporter was attacked during the scuffle between the two warring factions of residents. One group of angry residents had stormed Butenga Police post on Wednesday 06, August 2014, in an attempt to access and lynch the suspect. However, the group collided with another group of residents in support of the accused. Ssebuliba who is accused together with Nazziwa was arrested and detained at Butenga Police post.
During the fray, numerous people descended on to the journalist and beat him with rods and rubbles. He sustained serious injuries on his head and was rushed by Police to Butenga Health Centre IV for medical attention.
Bukomansimbi District Police Commander, Gertrude Tamaye confirmed the attack. She said five people have so far been arrested in connection with assault. They include; Regina Nakanwagi, Steven Kanakulya, Joseph Lubega, Kakembo Joseph and Christopher Jjuko. They have been transferred to Masaka central police station as police continues with further investigations.
HRNJ-Uganda was not able to speak to the victim journalist by the time of issuing this alert. However, Eddie Bindhe a journalist with Uganda Radio Network who witnessed the incident told HRNJ-Uganda that he was concerned about the journalist’s condition. “If it was not the Police to intervene on time the journalist would have been killed by the mob” said Bindhe.
In September, 2010 Commercial motor cyclists locally known as bodabodas in Rakai district in Southern Buganda beat up a Top radio correspondent Paul Kiggundu to death. HRNJ-Uganda strongly condemns such acts of people taking the law into their hands. We also commend area police for acting swiftly to save the life of the journalist and consequently arresting some of the suspects. We implore police to expeditiously investigate this matter and bring all the perpetrators of this mob justice to book
