Kampala, 02nd/July/2012;
Police have compensated two video cameras of a WBS Television journalist who
pitch camped at their headquarters in Kampala last week. However the implicated
officers were let scot free by the force’s leadership.
William Ntege aka Kyuumakyayeesu, with a medical drip on his
hand, camped at the police headquarters along parliamentary avenue with a
placard demanding that the police Chief Lt. Gen. Kale Kayihura compensates the
cameras reportedly shattered by the police as he covered news stories.
He received a call from the Deputy Police Spokesperson
Judith Nabakooba over the weekend who later handed him them money.
“The Deputy Police
spokesperson, Judith Nabakooba rang me on Saturday June 30th asking
for how much the two cameras would cost me, it appeared like a casual chat but
she later called me back to pick the money for which I used to purchase one of
the cameras. This was one step forward, now I want prosecution of the officers
who assaulted and damaged my cameras.” Ntege told HRNJ-Uganda Monday morning.
Citing failure by the police chief to honor an earlier
promise to replace the cameras, Ntege camped at the police headquarters with
the two damaged cameras. “I am here for my two cameras that were destroyed by
the Ugandan police. Tuli bakoowu (We are fed up)” read a placard he kept
flashing a the passing senior police officers and the public which was taken away
by the police moments before he was driven away to the Central Police Station
(CPS) in Kampala for negotiations.
The police applied force to remove the journalist in an incident
which saw the officer in charge of security one Mutabazi hit down his medical
drip prompting blood flow from the hand.
Ntege’s camera was damaged during the 2011 Kampala Mayoral
campaigns at Nakulabye when a group of policemen from Old Kampala police
station led by the then DPC Siraje Bakaleke attacked him. They arrested and
detained him for a night for allegedly blocking traffic. He accuses the police
of making away with his Shs100, 000/= UG X. He reported a case of assault,
malicious damage and theft of property.
Ntege lost his other camera worthy million Shs4.5/= UG X when
the DPC of CPS Kampala James Ruhweza reportedly pulled him down off a police
patrol car as he covered the events of police battling FDC leader Kizza Besigye who went down town
to St. Balikuddembe popularly known as Owino for lunch two months ago.
“HRNJ-Uganda condemns this approach by the police to use the
tax payers’ money to compensate victims of the force’s brutality against
journalists yet taking no action against the implicated officers. We are
reliably informed that these two incidents were not investigated by the police,
and as such no action was taken. This is therefore another way of covering up
for errant police officers in the force. It promotes impunity and puts the work
of journalists in a more dangerous situation at the hands of the same officers
who remain occupying their offices and manning police operations. We would like
the police to investigate these and other cases of attacks and take punitive
actions” Said the HRNJ-Uganda Programme Coordinator Wokulira Ssebaggala.
For More Information Contact;
Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda
(HRNJ-Uganda)
Kivebulaya Road Mengo Kampala Opp. St.
Marcelino Pre. School
P.O.BOX. 71314 Clock Tower Kampala, Tel:
+256-414-272934 / +256-414-667627
E-mail: news@hrnjuganda.org,
humanrajournalists@yahoo.co.uk
Website: www.hrnjuganda.org, BLOG:
http://hrnjuganda.blogpost.com
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