GULU CITY | December 9, 2025 — The country is reeling in grief and outrage after the death of Joshua Leon Otim, a 16-year-old student whose life was violently cut short during the December 6 attack on National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters in Gulu City.
Otim, a Senior Four student of Excell High School in Mukono District, succumbed this afternoon at St Mary’s Hospital Lacor after days in a coma triggered by a severe head injury. He was struck with a blunt object during chaotic scenes in which a gang, police officers, and UPDF soldiers unleashed violence on crowds gathered to welcome NUP presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu.
His grieving mother, Ms Margret Acan, said her son never regained consciousness after the assault.
“My boy was hit on the head and collapsed instantly. I watched him slip away day by day. He never woke up again,” she said, her voice sinking under the weight of unimaginable sorrow.
Witnesses described the attack as unprovoked and excessively brutal, with security personnel and unidentified men in civilian clothes beating and dispersing supporters. The violence left several people injured, including Kyagulanyi’s close confidant Daniel Oyirwoth, popularly known as Sir Dan Magic.
Doctors at Lacor Hospital said Otim suffered extensive head trauma. Despite efforts to stabilize him, his condition deteriorated, and he was pronounced dead this afternoon.
His body has been transferred to Gulu Military Hospital for a postmortem examination.
So far, no arrests have been made in connection with the attack. Police earlier claimed that investigations were underway, but families and human rights activists argue that little has been done to hold perpetrators accountable.
NUP officials have condemned the incident as “state-enabled violence against innocent citizens,” warning that such brutality threatens the credibility of the 2026 General Election.
Otim’s death has ignited fresh calls for justice, with many Ugandans expressing shock and heartbreak over the killing of a minor who had simply gone out to support the candidate he believed in.
“He was just a child with dreams ahead of him. Now he is gone, and no one has been arrested,” Ms Acan cried.
As investigations drag on, Joshua Leon Otim’s family is left shattered — mourning a son, a student, and a life full of promise violently taken away.
