Ugandan journalist severely injured covering peaceful procession

Isaac Kugonza, a cameraman with the privately owned station Delta TV, was seriously injured while covering a peaceful procession led by Kampala mayor Erias Lukwago on November 16, 2015, in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, according to news reports. Lukwago is seeking re-election as mayor of Kampala, reports said.

Kugonza was covering a confrontation between police and Lukwago as the mayor walked with supporters to the Ugandan electoral commission headquarters for Kampala mayor nominations, local journalists Bahati Remmy, a reporter for the Nile Broadcasting Services, and Barbara Among, from Uganda Radio Network, told CPJ.

Kugonza was injured after police began shooting rubber bullets and live rounds to disperse the crowd, according to reports and video footage. The journalist is suffering from a crack in his skull affecting his right eye and jaw, Delta TV’s news editor, Prossy Kisitu, told CPJ. It is unclear whetherKugonza was hit by a stray bullet or by a stone thrown by protesters, according to reports and the local journalists with whom CPJ spoke. The journalists said Kugonza’s camera was damaged during the incident.