Some of the journalists who were brutalized by security forces during the Kawempe North by-elections have spoken of the anguish and pain they went through at the hands of their tormentors.
Francis Isano, a photojournalist from the Next Media who spent several days in hospital suffering from a broken neck said what he went through was terrible.
“Those who beat us were wearing military uniform and I doubt whether there’s anyone who can wear that uniform by accident,” Isano, walking on crutches said.
Isano and others had gone to Uganda Human Rights Commission offices to deliver a petition seeking justice.
“Everything we went through as journalists [was horrifying]. None of us was in the wrong because we were doing our professional work,” he said.
Abubaker Lubowa, a photo journalist with Daily Monitor, said his equipment had been destroyed by some of the people who mishandled him.
“We want the commission to stop the security personnel from torturing us again as the 2026 elections nears. We also call for compensation for our lost and destroyed equipment and we want safety for journalists,” Lubowa said.
David Serwambala from Galaxy TV said they had been beaten for no reason and he was still hurting.
“Before we proceeded to Kawempe [to cover the election], we first went to the Electoral Commission and we agreed on how we should conduct ourselves but were surprised when the security forces turned against us,” Serwambala said.
After hearing their complaints, the commission’s spokesman, Alex Bukumunhe, assured them that they would investigate the matter to its logical conclusion and bring the culprits to book.
