Stephen Olupot had been drinking local brew and was heading home at about 10 pm in Abarilela Sub-County, Soroti district. On the same night, December 18, 2002, security personnel led by the Gombolola Internal Security Officer (GISO) were searching the Sub-County for a robber popularly knows as Okwalinga. He was allegedly in possession of two firearms and stolen electronics the day before. They had searched all his known hideouts and were heading to his home when they met drunken Olupot.

Mistaking him for Okwalinga, the GISO had him arrested and beaten. On questioning, Olupot protested that he was not Okwalinga. He produced his Graduated Tax tickets and Local Council certificate but the security personnel did not believe him. They frog marched him to Okwalinga’s home. On arrival in Okwalinga’s compound, they zeroed in on a particular hut. Voices could be heard from the hut. They broke down the door and inside, they found Okwalinga’s sister Kerestensia Abalo, her husband Joseph Ojulong and Okwalinga’s father.

The trio was shocked.  Gun wielding people had invaded their home. The GISO and the head of the Special Police Constables only identified as Okideng beat the trio demanding them to verify that the individual with them was Okwalinga. Kerestensia, her father and her husband Ojulong did not know Olupot. The DISO and Okideng had however almost concluded that Olupot was actually Okwalinga. They beat him in intervals, taking breaks in between the beating to ask him questions about activities he said he was not aware of.

One of the area councilors, Moses Angela, was alerted by neighbours and he made his way to Okwalinga’s homestead. He knew Okwalinga personally since he had arrested him on several occasions over theft.   When he saw Olupot he immediately advised the DISO to restrain his personnel because they had the wrong man. “I know Okwalinga and his whole family, this poor fellow is not Okwalinga,” said Angela.

At this juncture, the SPCs stopped beating Olupot and they left, leaving Olupot behind. He was in a terrible condition and could not move his body. He asked Angela to contact his uncle, Ocheger Okiror who was a Local Councillor three (LC3) of the same area. He was bleeding heavily from a deep cut at the top of his head. Being late in the night, the residents could not take him anywhere. They tried to stop the bleeding by tying a cloth over around head.

The next morning, Olupot was taken to Wera health centre by his uncle Okiror. He was later transferred to Soroti Hospital where he was admitted for eight days. In September 2003, Olupot filed a complaint with the Uganda Human Rights Commission in Soroti. One month later, in October, he was abducted by rebels of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and he was never seen again. His relatives moved to an IDP camp and it wasn’t until 2007 when his uncle Okiror decided to pursue the matter.

The human rights tribunal which sat in Soroti heard the testimonies of four witnesses. Keletensia Abalo and her husband Joseph had an almost similar testimony.

“We had just finished eating when the door was kicked in. I was not surprised since earlier in the day, police officers had been looking for my brother Okwalinga whom they said had stolen. They had somebody in their custody whom they said was Okwalinga but he wasn’t. They kept beating him even after we told them that he was not the one. The GISO kept insisting that the fellow was my brother,” Abalo told to the tribunal.

“Olupot looked terrible by the time they brought him to our home. He was bleeding from the head and was limping. They kept beating him yet he was not the Okwalinga they were looking for,” said Abalo’s husband, Joseph Ojulong.

Olupot’s Uncle Ocheger Okiror told the tribunal that Olupot was his nephew who had been mistaken for a local robber called Okwalinga and had been beaten continuously for close to an hour before he got properly identified.

A fourth witness, Dr James Opio from Soroti Hospital availed to the tribunal results of Olupot’s medical examination. The report indicated that Olupot had been badly beaten and had suffered trauma and partial paralysis. He had lost a lot of blood and had wounds on his back.  X-rays examinations showed that Olupot had suffered internal bleeding.

On August 31, 2007, the tribunal led by Commissioner Veronica Bichetero awarded Shs 8 million to Stephen Olupot. Since he had not been seen since his abduction by the LRA, the compensation was awarded to his brother’s son whom he had been looking after for six years.

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