Journalist accuses police of assault

Mbale, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Sam Welikhe, a journalist at the Mbale based Elgon FM radio in Mbale city is accusing police officers of assaulting him while returning home from duty on Sunday evening.

According to Welikhe, the police officers under the command of the in-charge of Busiu police station, Darius Owio intercepted him at around 6 pm in Busiu town council and assaulted him for allegedly violating the curfew hours even after identifying himself as a journalist.

Juliet Namasa and Sarah Nekese, both residents of Busiu town council have condemned the manner in which police is enforcing the presidential directives.

They say that while most of the pubs in the area are closed in line with the presidential directives, some including the one owned by Owio is operational, which is unfair.

They urged the RDC to intervene such that officers who are behaving unprofessionally like the OC are punished.

Rogers Taitika, the Elgon region police spokesperson also condemned the attack on the journalist, saying the law is going to catch up with the OC who led the operation.

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