Tegu Death: Questions after Enanga said Makerere student was mentally ill

Uganda Police Force (UPF) spokesperson Fred Enanga has said killed Makerere University student Emmanuel Tegu suffered from bi-polar disorder.

Tegu passed on at the weekend after almost one week at Mulago Hospital.

He succumbed to injuries from a mob action near Lumumba Hall, according to police.

But some claim it was LDUs that beat up Tegu, son to Police Sergeant Sam Okwalinga, while he returned from prayers.

Police has dismissed this allegation.  

Tegu’s family had taken him to three hospitals – Mulago Hospital, Mildway Health Centre Seguku and Rubaga Hospital – before he died on July 04.

At Milday Health Centre, Enanga said, a one Dr Arinda was the one managing Tegu’s bipolar condition.

Enanga claimed police patrol teams had found Tegu naked behind the Makerere main building at about 10pm on June 28.

ENANGA: TEGU ATTEMPTED TO STONE OFFICERS

He also noted that the third year veterinary student has no identification document on him.

“When our officers inquired about who he was and what he was doing, he tried to run away,” Enanga told reporters in Kampala on July 06.

“He became more aggressive as they tried to pursue him and he started chasing them with stones.”

The police spokesperson also revealed that operatives had obtained CCTV footage from the Church at St Augustine Makerere

The footage clearly shows how he was chasing officers with stones, Enanga assured reporters.

He further narrated that Tegu had run from St Augustine Church to Centenary Bank where he reportedly tried to attack two of the guards.

“One of the guards raised an alarm which attracted residents from around Lumumba Hall,” added Enanga.

“Some of these people, instead of inquiring details about the victim, descended on him, seriously assaulting him.”

But Enanga’s statement raised questions online where the ‘Justice for Tegu’ campaign had gathered momentum.

For example, some shared an image of a brutalised man in blood-spotted t-shirt who they claimed was Tegu and wondered why Enanga said the victim was found half-naked.

More others branded the police mouth piece a liar trying to cover up the sins of rogue security officers.

But Enanga reiterated an earlier police statement exonerating LDUs, police and the army.

“There is nothing at this stage to show that any police officer, a military officer or an LDU was involved in the death of Emmanuel Tegu.”

Tegu, 24, was laid to rest in Bukedea District on July 05.