The Northern Uganda Media Club (NUMEC), an umbrella organization for journalists in northern Uganda has called for a swift police investigation over the alleged assault of a Gulu-based journalist by Aruu County MP, Odonga Otto.
Geoffrey Okot, 29, attached to Choice FM was on Sunday afternoon last week allegedly punched by Otto during a football match between Acholi Province and their counterparts from West Nile. The inter provincial match was organized by the Federation of Uganda Football Association-FUFA.
In a statement last week, NUMEC expressed concern over the allegations and called for a quick police investigation on the allegations.
‘‘NUMEC calls on police in Gulu—where an assault case against Otto was lodged by Okot—to swiftly conclude investigations on the matter to enable timely delivery of justice to the victim,`’ read part of the NUMEC statement.
The statement added that ‘‘threats against journalists undermine the ability of journalists to collect, process and disseminate timely information critical for informed choice by the public.’’
An assault case number 50/16/06/2019 is lodged against MP Otto at Gulu Central Police Station pending investigation.
Aswa river region police spokesperson, Patrick Jimmy Okema said they are yet to subject the victim (Geoffrey Okot) to medical examination.
Medical examination conducted from Gulu Regional Referral Hospital stated that Okot suffered simple tissue damage.
Okot told our reporter that he is experiencing pain at the back and neck where he was hit by the legislator.
Odonga has vehemently denied allegations of attacking the journalist noting that he was engaged in crowd controll after fans at Pece stadium were the football game was being played turned rowdy.
Robert Ssempala, the national coordinator for Human Rights Network for Journalists Uganda-(HRNJU) on Tuesday issued a statement condemning the action of the legislator.
