Lira protest should have been managed better

The last few days in Lira town have seen chaos and protests following the death of an 11-year-old pupil, Dickens Okello. Okello was allegedly killed on November 9 and two people of Asian origin, have been arrested in relation to the death.

The loss of a child is a painful experience, so it is understandable that Lira residents were outraged that a young life could be snuffed out in the manner it happened. In the circumstances, it is the duty of the authorities to manage the situation well in order to avoid getting an already tense situation out of control.

Unfortunately, in this case, the authorities were not on top of the situation. First, in their statements, some of the MPs said the unfortunate incident demanded drastic action to end the impunity of some foreign nationals against the natives of Lango. In so doing, they appeared to be pointing fingers at Asians even before the court case starts.

Secondly, the police in Kole released a post-mortem report to the public before the doctor, who performed the post-mortem, gave his findings. North Kyoga region police spokesperson David Ongom Mudong said the post-mortem conducted by their pathologist, Dr Francis Olwa, indicated that Okello died of heart-related complications.

But Dr Olwa disowned Mr Ongom’s announcement, saying “I carried out the post-mortem, but I have not yet released the results, so I do not know where they [police] got the results from.” This caused further anger among the public. Protests ensued with people, especially the youth, attacking shops owned by Asians. Police were called in to quell the situation.

By Saturday, five gunshot victims had been airlifted to Mulago National Referral Hospital; Unity Radio in Lira had been sealed off after being raided by security personnel; and a couple of other people had been arrested over the protests.
While the situation was bound to get tense, the leaders should have managed people’s anger in order to avoid making an already bad situation worse.

The MPs should have merely called for the matter to be properly concluded while calling for calm and peace from the community. On the other hand, the police should have sensed how tense the situation was and left the issue of announcing the post-mortem report to the pathologist.

As the gunshot victims recover, and wish them quick recovery, the authorities should ensure that this case is brought to its logical conclusion. Besides, as they manage they calm down emotions, they should also guarantee maximum security to the Asian community in the town. No more lives should be lost.