National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, widely known as Bobi Wine, has accused security agencies of responsibility for the death of 16-year-old Joshua Leon Otim, who succumbed to severe injuries on Monday following violent clashes in Gulu over the weekend.
In a statement issued Monday afternoon, Kyagulanyi said the teenager died from injuries allegedly inflicted when police, military personnel and plain-clothed groups armed with sticks and machetes violently dispersed his supporters on Saturday as he attempted to hold a campaign event in Gulu City.
Kyagulanyi said he was “deeply saddened” by Otim’s passing, describing it as part of a broader pattern of what he called violence and repression against opposition supporters during the election season.
“Otim’s death underscores the ongoing complicity of the Electoral Commission and all other State institutions mandated to ensure a credible, free and fair electoral process,” he said.
He extended condolences to the family and friends of the deceased and demanded that those responsible be held accountable.
“We demand prompt justice against all those responsible for his death,” Kyagulanyi added.
The NUP leader has repeatedly accused security forces of blocking his campaign activities, using excessive force and working with armed civilian groups to intimidate opposition supporters—claims the police and army have consistently denied. By press time, security agencies had not issued an official response to the latest allegations.
Otim’s death adds to a growing list of incidents that human rights groups and election observers say point to escalating political violence during the campaign period.
Police in Gulu City have however dismissed claims circulating on social media that Otim’s death resulted from a confrontation involving security forces and Robert Kyagulanyi, instead attributing the fatal assault to a group of four youths who are now on the run.
According to police, Otim, a resident of Customs Corner Cell in Bardeg Layibi Division, left home at around 5pm on December 6, telling his mother he was heading to town. When he failed to return, the family began searching for him.
At around 5am the next morning, two boda boda riders brought Otim home in critical condition, informing his mother that he had been beaten by a group of boys in Lailong after being accused of stealing a mobile phone at about 4am.
The mother rushed him to Lacor Hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition. Despite efforts to save him, Otim died on December 9 at around midday.
Police say statements have been recorded from the mother and the two boda boda riders, and efforts to track down the four suspects are ongoing.