Suspected Makerere student killers boast on social media

Kampala. As relatives and friends gathered in Kolkil village in Pader District yesterday to bury David Ojok Otim who was beaten to death by a mob of Makerere University students, his suspected killers took to social media to boast about their action.
A one Humble Derrick Wagooli posted on the Makerere University official students’ guild Facebook page, bragging how they had killed another “thief.”
“Ha ha ha, for us we don’t joke. Another thief killed at the mighty Nkrumah Hall today eeh Nkrumah oyee, eeh activists oyee,” Mr Wagooli posted.
The post has since been pulled down after it attracted much condemnation from other students on the page.
Mr Ojok, a computer science graduate, had gone to demand his money from one of the students, where they mistook him for a thief.
Meanwhile, Mr Marvin Mutungi, the Nkrumah Hall chairperson, who is still being detained at Wandegeya Police Station in connection with the murder, has denied having played any role in the killing.
Mr Mutungi said he only reported to police to make a statement as the chairperson of the hall of residence only to be detained.
“Ojok’s friends and family members tried to lynch me and I sought refuge at the police. I do not know the deceased and had never seen him prior to his death. I only came to the scene later on but could hardly identify anyone as it was dark and there were no lights,” Mr Mutungi said.
Speaking to Daily Monitor, Mr Brian Ampaire, the commander of the police station, said the police are carrying out investigations and have cast their net wider to look for suspects beyond residents of Nkrumah Hall because they have information that other people were involved apart from the students.
“Since the offence is capital in nature, we must exhaust all angles of the investigations and not just gamble around. Mr Mutungi is still guiding us in the investigation as we wait for legal advice from the State. As chairman of Nkrumah Hall, he was in charge,” Mr Ampaire said.
Mr Ojok’s father, Superintendent of Police Mackson Okidi, in a phone interview with this newspaper described the deceased as a humble hard working boy who was paying tuition fees for one of his young siblings, Christopher Labong, at Kampala International University. He was also doing web designing for KPMG, an audit firm.
Dr Livingstone Sewanyana, the executive director of Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, condemned the students’ acts.
He urged police to hold accountable those who participate in mob action, saying: “Everyone is entitled to a fair hearing and our law does not provide for mob justice. There is need for a collective effort to address this problem since innocent lives are being lost.”

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