Military Police Assaulted 4 Journalists And 3 Members Of Parliament

Uganda - East Africa News

While Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine was inside the UN rights offices in Kampala presenting a petition against abduction of his supporters, journalists came under attack by Museveni's military force for covering the news on Wednesday.

Military police assaulted four journalists and three members of parliament (MPs) who were waiting outside the offices of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Kampala .

The journalists, including two women, were treated at a nearby hospital .

The journalists included Josephine Namakumbi, Irene Abalo of NBS television, Cliff Wamala of NTV television and Timothy Murungi of New Vision newspaper.

“We were standing outside the UN offices waiting for Bobi Wine to come out and address us when policemen and soldiers started beating anyone they came across. They beat me several times as I fled,” said Timothy Mukasa.

A spokesman for Wine’s National Unity Platform, Joel Ssenyonyi, told Anadolu Agency: “It is terrible. [President Yoweri] Museveni’s army and police have gone crazy. Can you imagine beating journalists and members of parliament just outside the UN offices? Something must be done to get rid of such situations.”

The East African country's Electoral Commission on Jan. 16 announced Yoweri Museveni as the Jan. 14 elections winner. Wine, who refused to concede defeat, challenged the election results in the country's top court.

Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, Monday released a list of at least 243 people he claims were abducted by the government.

On Twitter, Wine said his team has hundreds of other names that are still being verified before they can be published.