(HRNJ-Uganda/IFEX) – Mukono, 22 May 2012 – The police in Mukono have started investigating into the attack of four Mukono district based journalists by summoning and quizzing Pastor Samuel Landasa of Mount Lebanon Church from whose church a group of youths emerged and beat up journalists on Sunday 20th and confiscated their tools of work. […]
(HRNJ-Uganda/IFEX) – Mukono, 22 May 2012 – The police in Mukono have started investigating
into the attack of four Mukono district based journalists by summoning and
quizzing Pastor Samuel Landasa of Mount Lebanon Church from whose church a
group of youths emerged and beat up journalists on Sunday 20th and
confiscated their tools of work.
A group of about 10 led by one Shem Ssemanda attacked Kalumba Ronald of WBS
television, Paddy Nsobya of Bukedde Newspaper (Vision Group of Companies),
Makumbi Joseph of the Red Pepper and Bbuule Moses Kizito of Bukedde radio
as they followed up a news story.
The journalists had gone to get the pastor’s side of the story about
allegations that he had banished some critical members from his church who
were accusing him of illegally conducting church marriages and changing the
church land title into his name. Those banned were later arrested by
police. It is this story that the journalists were following up on.
During a fact finding mission to Mukono, the Human Rights Network for
Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda) team led by Lawyer Catherine Anite and
Robert Ssempala established that the matter was being expeditiously handled
by the police. A team of journalists in the area including the assault
victims met with the District Police Commander Seiko Chemonges, the OC CID
Henry Mugumya and OC Station Mwaule among others at the police station in
Mukono.
Chemonges reassured the team that all the perpetrators would be brought to
book. “Those people who beat up journalists must be brought to justice at
an appropriate time, whoever they are. Am ready to ensure journalists’
safety in Mukono, to even give them security when covering contentious
scenes,” said Chemonges.
“HRNJ-Uganda commends the expeditious manner in which the police have
handled the matter and the assurance given to journalists while on duty in
Mukono. We implore the police in other areas to emulate this exemplary
action by the Mukono DPC. We are also following up the matter to ensure
that it is handled in a more transparent way. We want the perpetrators to
face the law and also compensate the journalists if it is established that
their gadgets were damaged,” said HRNJ-Uganda lawyer Catherine Anite.
