The National Unity Platform (NUP) opposition party has denied allegations of attack on journalists during a burial event in Lwengo District, citing conflicting accounts and absence of evidence.
“We have taken note of various statements made by some people, alleging that on May 18, 2024 during a burial in Lwengo District, some journalists were hurt by part of our security. When these allegations came to our attention, our communications team led by our spokesperson reached to the journalists who made these claims, those whom they accused, as well as the other people who attended the event,” NUP stated.
The party noted that the versions of what transpired are very different. The onlookers who we spoke to, as well as the accused persons all denied that such an attack took place. Adding, “We reached out and requested the affected persons, who claimed to have video evidence, to provide it. They haven’t provided it yet.”
However, the party believes that the accusations are politically motivated.
“We are very concerned that some of the journalists who have struggled to drive this narrative are actually political actors working for the detractors of our party at different levels. Some have always used their social media pages to attack and disparage our party and its leadership. In the absence of any evidence linking our teams to any wrongdoing, we have every reason to believe that the whole story is cooked and politically motivated,” NUP noted in a statement.
The party added that in fact some journalists confessed that the camera apparently paraded as having been vandalized was never at the scene. It was an old, faulty camera parade to support the wild claims.
“The National Unity Platform firmly believes in media freedoms and would be the last to condone any attack on the media. We are proud of the cordial, respectful relationship we have built with the media over time and this is something we shall guard with everything. If anyone has evidence that any of our team members conducted themselves wrongly, you are encouraged to send it to us and action will be taken swiftly,” NUP guided.
The journalists in the Greater Masaka raised their complaint of attack by NUP security during the burial of the late Pascal Ssekasamba at Manga Village in Kiseka Subcounty in Lwengo District as the situation looked scary during the party Principal Robert Kyagunyi expressed his condolences.
