Former police commander faces charges for assaulting journalist
Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) in a letter to Ruhakana Rugunda, Prime Minister of Uganda welcomed the charges brought against the former police commander of Kampala District, Joram Mwesigye for assaulting a Wavah Broadcasting Services (WBS) TV journalist, Andrew Lwanga.
PPF Secretary General Owais Aslam Ali in his letter urged the government of Uganda to serve the justice to the assaulted journalists.
According to Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda), on 12 January 2015, commander Mwesigye beat Lwanga when he along with Bukedde TV journalist Joseph Ssetimba was covering the peaceful demonstration by the jobless youths that were marching to present a petition to the Inspector General of Police’s office in Naguru, Kampala.
The WBS journalist was injured in spinal cord which caused him difficulty in moving without using crutches, although he remained under treatment in national and international hospitals. While, Ssetimba was also went under treatment for days as he had also seriously assaulted.
The Presiding Grade One Magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu ruled that she examine the evidence of the six prosecution witnesses which shown that Mwesigye was not innocent. Mwesigye faced three counts including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and two others for damage to property.
Magistrate Kamasanyu ordered Mwesigye to give his defence on 7 December 2016 when the matter comes up.
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