Who killed MUK student, Tegu?

By Alex Mugasha

Controversy surrounds the death of Makerere University student who passed away at Mulago on July 4, days after he was beaten by a hitherto unidentified group of people.

Emmanuel Tegu allegedly told his mother and sister while on the death bed that he was tortured by a member of the Local Defence Unit (LDU) attached to Makerere University but police maintain that the third year BSc. Animal production (BAP) student was beaten by a mob and not a security operative.

Police said preliminary investigations indicate that the victim was attacked at around 11:00 pm, near Lumumba hall, in Makerere University on June 28.

"At the time the victim died, the police had not recorded his statement to give us his last moments," Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson was quoted as having said by sections of the media.

Yet before he breathed his last, Tegu is said to have narrated the ordeal to his mother and sister.

According to family sources, he maintained that he had been battered by an LDU personnel for allegedly flouting the curfew guidelines.

His death has lit a firestorm on social media and a hashtag #JusticeForTegu has been trending for the last couple of days.

In a tweet, presidential hopeful and People Power movement leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine expressed dissatisfaction about the way Tegu's matter had been handled.

He said for months, people have questioned the brutal methods employed by security personnel but to no avail.

Tegu, 24, was a son of Sgt. Sam Okwalinga, a police officer in Wakiso district.

Tegu was laid to rest on July 5, 2020, at the family's ancestral home in Kanyum village, Kolir sub-county, Bukedea district.