Dickson Ssentongo

Dickson Ssentongo (3 January 1981 – 13 September 2010) was a Ugandan radio journalist and news anchor for Prime Radio in Nantabuliriwa, Mukono District, Uganda. He had recently announced his candidacy in upcoming local council elections, running on the opposition Democratic Party ticket.

Personal Ssentongo was living with his parents in Nantabulirirwa village, which is located in Ggoma sub-county of the Mukono district, in the Central region of Uganda. Ssentongo was a 29-years-old and had no wife or children.

The Ugandan Journalists Association (UJA) held a funeral service for Ssentongo on Friday.

Career Dickson Ssentongo was a radio journalist for Prime Radio in Nantabuliriwa, Uganda. The radio station is owned by the seventh-day adventist church's Central Ugandan Conference. He regularly read the news bulletins at 7 a.m. in the Luganda language. The family could not pay the 10,000 shillings that were needed for the operation.

Musoni Alphonse, the district police commander of Mukono, said he dispatched a team of police investigators to establish the facts of the case and make arrests.

Context The Mukono District is known for robbery, theft, domestic violence, defilement, witchcraft, child sacrifice and other crimes. Iron bar crime, which are locally referred to as butayibwa, have led those categories in the recent years. Attacks by iron-bar hit-men have become an epidemic in the Mukono district of Uganda. Justine Nakulima was attacked by iron bar hit men at 5 a.m. on her way to work and survived. Beside pedestrians cyclists are also attacked. Cyclists hired by people pretending to be customers are hit. Nothing is stolen from these victims in most cases. According to Dr. George Kasirye, who is the Medical Officer at the Mukono Health Centre IV, the hospital receives at least two victims of iron-bar crimes every week and some victims never even seek help from the hospital. The problem has also spread to other parts of Uganda. Districts such as Kampala, Wakiso, Hoima, Mbale and others have seen similar attacks happening there. Many do not know why these attacks keep happening or who is behind the attacks. Susani Borgere, a councilor in the Mukono Central Division, thinks the attacks are a major cause of unemployment, drug abuse, and poor police operation in the country.

The iron bar hitmen have injured several people and killed six in the Mukono district all within three weeks. They have mainly targeted motorcycle riders and women who are working in markets. The suspects were charged with murder and robbery, among other crimes. Other victims of the iron bar attacks include Godfrey Gamwanga, a florist in the Mukono district and Saad Kalyango, a teacher at a school in the Mukono district.

Impact Dickson Ssentongo is one of five journalists killed after 1995 but media who are victims of violence is higher by tenfold annually.

Ssentongo's death was the second death of a journalist in Uganda in the same week. Ssentongo's death was similar to Paul Kiggundo of Masaka-based TOP (Tower of Praise) Radio, who was beaten to death three days earlier by a group of motorcycle taxi drivers in southwest Uganda. The mob claimed that Kiggundo was working for the police after he filmed the mob attacking the house of another driver.

Reactions The Prime Radio station sent their condolences to Ssentongo's family and called his death "a very sad moment for the media in Uganda." They called on all media outlets to make safety of their employees their top priority. The station said they will put pressure on the police to bring the perpetrators to justice. Bokova said, "I condemn the brutal murder of Dickson Ssentongo. The tragic killings of Mr Ssentongo and freelance journalist Paul Kiggundi three days earlier, sound the alarm for freedom of expression in Uganda and I urge the Ugandan authorities to leave no stone unturned in the efforts to find those responsible for these crimes."