Skip to main content

60-Year-Old Journalist Henry Wasswa Who Works With a Germany Press Agency has Been Arrested for Interviewing Afghan Refugees Hosted in Imperial Resort Beach Hotel at Entebbe - Uganda.

By Editor

A Ugandan journalist, Henry Wasswa Lumanyika is detained at Entebbe police station on charges of criminal trespass, after allegedly lodging and interviewing Afghan evacuees. 


Wasswa, a senior correspondent with Deutsche Press Agentur (DPA), the German Press Agency was arrested on Thursday by security officers at Imperial Resort Beach hotel, a facility that is hosting the 51 Afghan evacuees who arrived in Uganda on Wednesday. 


They are part of a group that is fleeing Afghanistan as the United States rushes to airlift thousands of people out of the country, after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.


According to sources, 60-year-old Wasswa booked and checked into the hotel on Tuesday night, a day before the evacuees arrived and paid $167 for his accommodation. At the time, there was no indication that the hotel was out of bounds for Ugandan nationals or any other visitors, even though its security had been heightened. 


However, Wasswa's woes began after security officers with the ministry of Internal Affairs tags questioned him after interviewing some of the evacuees for news articles.


"He was arrested because the hotel is now out of bounds. His presence could jeopardize the security of the evacuees and our national security interests," one of the security officers told URN.


Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson Luke Owoyesigire says that Wasswa was doing work at the wrong time and in the wrong place. He says that the police in Entebbe have opened a general inquiries file to establish Wasswa's intention while at the hotel.


Early this week, the ministry of Foreign Affairs cautioned Ugandans against taking and publishing pictures of the Afghan evacuees hosted in the country. State minister for Regional Cooperation John Mulimba said that any such action may be tantamount to a security threat.


Mulimba said that some of the evacuated persons could be wanted by the Taliban government and taking their photographs could put their lives in danger and added that there is a need for media houses to report very cautiously because the matter has components of national security.


“I need to make an appeal to honourable colleagues, the country, but particularly to the media houses that the evacuees, who are now stateless, are people who are stressed, they need some kind of treatment such that they recover,” he said in a statement presented to parliament.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

UGANDA ELECTORAL COMMISSION TO ELIMINATE NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARDS (IDs) FOR 2021 GENERAL ELECTIONS.

By Editor
The elimination of using National IDs (Ndagamuntu) for the 2021 elections should not have come as a surprise. One would be very NAIVE to think that Bobi Wine has not prepared for this in his Business Plan under the RISK section. It is public knowledge that our EC is not independent.  It is also public knowledge that Military Dictator Yoweri Museveni will never lose an election. What stunned us this morning is when we noticed that on social media, people were mocking Bobi with his "get your Ndagamuntu".  We are on record for saying to all Our readers that the National ID is like Apartheid in South Africa. Students of History would know how those IDs were being used to arrest people, deny them jobs, deny them basic services. Consequently, Bobi was not wrong and will never be wrong on the Ndagamuntu. Except the ones attacking him and mocking him forget that in Uganda, now, no National ID (Ndagamuntu), no service.  If you have not been denied registering your child i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Here is Why Our Utterances For Praying Jesus And God To Come Liberate Ugandans, May Be Misplaced. This Phrase is like inform of a Letter To Some Categorized Section Of Ugandans.

By Editor
https://m.facebook.com/yusufosuta/photos/a.1896701010557789/2070383359856219/?type=3 OPEN LETTER TO NRM SUPPORTERS - NATIONAL ROBBERS MOVEMENT. .................................................................................. Last week of March, a friend told me to pray for Uganda.  I told him that he was an Idiot and we have prayed for too long and we are still hungry and sick and Jesus is not coming soon to liberate us. He then ignored the STUPID and sent me a picture we all now know.  It got me totally messed up.  This guy was telling me to pray then sends a picture of men bowing down in blood.  He might have meant guns but I blocked him because his utterances of praying for Uganda were misplaced. I unblocked him 3 weeks later and asked him about praying and assassinations.  His reply "eithrr prayers or guns or both". I hate violence with a passion.  So he is now blocked in like FOREVER. Do you feel safe?  Do not feel safe. Uganda regim...
Post a Comment
Read more

Parliament Urges Government to Provide Shs 4 Billion to Media Houses to Run Awareness Campaign on Tourism in Uganda.

By Editor
Parliament also urged Gov’t to provide additional Shs4Bn to UTB to engage international and national media houses in production of positive media stories for improved destination image, following reports of drop in number of tourists from US, Europe and China visiting Uganda. "The National Development Plan targeted to cumulatively attract 281,760 International Tourist arrivals from US, Europe & China but only 67,252 arrivals were registered by the end of the first half of FY 2023/24. The U.S, Europe & China were key target source for leisure tourist who stay longer than business tourists. However, statistics show that international arrivals from the aforementioned areas have continue to drop. The UTB requires Shs4Bn to engage international & national media houses in production of positive tourism stories to improve destination perception in light of recent controversies that shade the destination in a bad light. However, this has remained unfunded,” said La...
Post a Comment
Read more