Victims who sustained injuries during the riots in Kampala want the government to compensate them for the damages caused.

On Wednesday 18th November 2020, riots broke out in Kampala and other parts of the country as people protested against the arrest of National Unity Platform Presidential Candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu.

Kyagulanyi was arrested and detained at Nalufenya Police station in Jinja and charged with an act likely to spread an infectious disease.

This prompted supporters of Kyagulanyi across the country to protest and Police and the army used tear gas and live bullets indiscriminately to quell the protests leading to the death of over 50 people and several others sustained injuries.

According to the victims whom this reporter found at Mulago National Referral Hospital, they were innocently shot by police and the army yet they were not among the protestors.

Peter Oguyi, a boda boda rider in Kisenyi at the KCCA Health Center Stage narrates that, that fateful day, he had asked for food from a nearby kiosk when he was hit by a bullet.

He narrates that while he was eating food near the health facility, a speeding army pick up came and randomly started shooting towards the health facility and he realized his leg breeding.

He was first admitted at the KCCA health Center before he was transferred to Mulago Hospital where he has now spent over a week.

Oguyi now wants the government to compensate him for the damages caused to him innocently saying that the motorcycle he drove was acquired through a loan and that his family of 3 children and wife is destined for suffering.

Leopold Nyakauma, who deals in spare parts in Kiseka market where the riots started from, narrates that when the chaos erupted, he closed his shop and boarded a boda boda to go home but his journey was cut short when a police officer shot at the boda boda rider.

According to him, when the boda boda rider was shot at, he lost control and they both fell off the motorcycle but he stood up and started running but he was also shot at twice in his both legs before the police van picked him picked and took him to Wandegeya Police station before he was rushed to Mulago.

Nyakauma who has a wife and toddler said that the government should come in and pay for crippling him and now rendering him useless to his family.

Musa Kasolo, a brother to one of the patients said that the bullet found his brother in the park where they work from. He said that his brother should now be compensated and helps his five children who now don’t have a caretaker.

Stories Continues after ad

The Deputy Governor Bank of Uganda (BoU) Michael Atingi-Ego has handed over the refurbished Nakaloke Health Centre III.  The health facility has been restored to a cleaner, brighter, and more functional state through the outstanding team efforts of the central bank, the district, and the health centre itself.

The refurbishment of Nakaloke Health Centre III, was inspired by the spirit of Ubuntu and the BoU’s delivery of its functions in the service of the people of Uganda.

In 2016 the BoU commemorated its Golden Jubilee through a series of activities and events that aimed to maximize tangible engagement between the central bank and all its diverse stakeholders.

In that charity walk, the BoU staff joined hands with well-wishers and stakeholders to raise funds in support of maternal and child health in the locations that host the central bank’s branches across the country.  The Bank’s staff were driven by ‘the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity’, also known as ‘Ubuntu’.

“We, as a BoU community are much less without you, the people of Nakaloke, the people of Mbale city/district, the people of Uganda, and all humane people across the world. We are richer, much richer because we give and share what we have with the community. Indeed, the Greek philosopher Aristotle said that giving is about improving the moral character of the giver.” He said

“We firmly believe that every woman has a right to give birth in a proper health facility with appropriate medical equipment. Every woman has a right to hold her newborn baby or babies in her arms and to nurse and nurture them from tender toddlers to fully functional adults. Nakaloke Health Centre III will now serve the people more effectively because the BoU, the Mbale district officials, and the management and staff of this health centre worked smoothly together to uplift this centre.”

He said the Bank’s direct financial contribution and the gracious commitment of the district together with Nakaloke Health Centre III itself, they were able to develop a water supply system for the centre in addition to the improvement of the maternity ward as well as the provision of relevant medical equipment and supplies.

The BoU contributed directly to the project because it was in line with its public mandate. The Bank is mostly known for ensuring that the prices in the markets do not increase quickly or by huge jumps across the basket of the typical goods and services.

BoU is known for promoting financial sector stability through regulating and supervising commercial banks, credit institutions, micro-deposit taking institutions, foreign exchange bureaus and money remittance service providers, and the relevant national payment systems.

He encouraged Mbale district/city leaders to work with the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises so that they are properly prepared to access the ACF to fund the value-adding agricultural projects in this region.

Stories Continues after ad