NUP Teso coordinator arrested for ‘photographing police’

The National Unity Platform (NUP) coordinator for Teso sub-region, Jonathan Okware, has been arrested alongside three others in Toroma County, Katakwi district, for allegedly taking photos and videos of police officers.

Okware was arrested last Friday, September 5, together with David Livingston Lima, NUP chairperson for Toroma County, Stephas Aule, and one unidentified individual. According to George William Okoit, a NUP mobilizer in Teso, party members rushed to Katakwi Central Police Station after learning of the arrests.

However, the exact charges were not immediately made clear. Okoit alleged that Okware’s arrest was linked to “misuse of a computer” after he used his phone to capture photos and videos of police during the incident, despite not being accredited as a journalist.

“We managed to get police bond for two of our people, but Okware and Lima remained in custody. They never believed we could nominate more than seven candidates,” Okoit said.

He further claimed the arrests were politically motivated, aimed at intimidating and weakening NUP’s growing presence in Teso. He noted that authorities had previously dismissed the party’s influence in the region, but its ability to field more than seven candidates in Katakwi, traditionally a stronghold of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) had unsettled political opponents.

Efforts to contact Katakwi district police commander (DPC) Jude Nasucha and the East Kyoga regional police commander (RPC) were unsuccessful, as both did not answer calls. However, police sources confirmed that the suspects remain in custody, though their charges are still under review.