With over 26,000 likes, a tweet about Uganda’s police spokesperson, Fred Enanga claims that he was hitting journalists with a catapult he is seen holding in his hands. Reason being, the said journalists were supposedly asking irrelevant questions.
This claim is further shared as a tweet by Fons Stoelinga, Former Dutch ambassador to India and as a Facebook post on March 12, 2022.
Background
Ugandan police have previously been accused of extortion, harassment, killings and torture. Most of these atrocities put them on the spot during the country’s recent general elections, misinformation notwithstanding.
Verification
Fred Enanga was first appointed as Uganda’s police spokesperson in 2014 and later re-appointed in 2019. However, these photos of Fred Enanga were taken at a press briefing on April 12, 2021. At the time, Uganda’s Directorate of Criminal Intelligence had confiscated several industry-made catapults. During a crackdown he said, these catapults were used to attack motorists and target, “government vehicles.”
During this briefing, Fred Enanga said there were also reports of petrol bomb attacks on motorists. Referring to an attack on eight vehicles. Two of these vehicles were slightly damaged after petrol bombs were hurled at motorists along Wakaliga Road.
Verdict
NO Uganda’s police spokesperson did not use a catapult on reporters who asked irrelevant questions as alleged.
This story was produced by Africa Uncensored in partnership with Code for Africa with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.
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