GULU. The family of Margret Abalo , a resident of Customs Corner Cell ,Bardeg Layibi Division ,Gulu City is mourning the death of their son Leon Joshua Otim who succumbed to injuries on Tuesday .
Otim,16 sustained the injuries after being attacked by criminal gangs at Awere Sports Ground in Bar-Dege-Layibi Division in Gulu City at the weekend.
He had gone to the playground to attend a campaign rally for the National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, when he was hit on the head with a blunt object.
He died from a brain haemorrhage on Tuesday afternoon at St Mary’s Hospital Lacor at around 2pm following a three-day coma.
Ms Abalo, Otim’s mother, said on the fateful day, her son left home between 4:30pm and 5pm. “He told me that he was going to attend a campaign rally at Awere Grounds.
I advised him against it because I was worried about the volatile situation. But he assured me that he will be safe and will return safely. Unfortunately, he did not make it back,” she narrated.
“If I had known that he was never going to come back to me alive, I would have done everything possible to stop him,” a visibly devastated mother narrated .
Ms Abalo said her son fought for his life until Tuesday afternoon at around 2pm, when all the vital organs stopped working. Otim died three days after returning home from school. He was a student at Excel High School in Mukono.
. She noted that she does not know why her son was killed. “The death of my son reminds me of the death of his father, my husband. Ever since he died, I am still searching for answers,” she adds. Her husband, the late Col Justine Anywar, a senior Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) commander, died seven years ago. Otim’s body has since been taken to Gulu Military Hospital Mortuary in Gulu City pending post-mortem. Abalo said her son’s head was crushed, leaving him with little chance of survival.
By press time, no suspect had been arrested in connection to the incident. Seven others were injured in the scuffle. The matter was reported at Gulu City Central Police Station. In a statement on Tuesday ,Uganda Police gave a different narrative leading to Otim’s death .According to police , Otim was assaulted after being suspected of stealing a mobile phone .
“ Otim was accused of stealing a mobile phone around 0400hrs . We established that the mother rushed him to Lacor Hospital for medical attention ,where he was admitted . Unfortunately, despite efforts to save him,Otim Leon Joshua passed away today(Tuesday) ,at around midday,” the statement reads in part
“Further investigations has confirmed that the deceased was assaulted by four boys who are currently at large . Efforts are underway to apprehend them
“It is important to note that claims circulating on social media suggesting that the deceased died due to a scuffle involving security agencies and Hon.Robert Kyagulanyi are false and baseless . The truth is that Otim Leon Joshua succumbed to injuries inflicted by those who suspected him of theft,”