The 39-year-old man who slapped Musa Ecweru at Sunday service at St. Michael Catholic Church in Wera Sub County in the Amuria District is apparently deranged, according to the minister of state for works and transportation.
“We discovered his background details. We have established that he was insane,” the minister is quoted as stating by Bazzup.
He said, “His craziness periodically hits him, and when he suffers, he is wild and vicious.”
Michael Okurut, a native of Wera, smacked minister Ecweru when he was attending prayers. Ecweru is also the Amuria County MP.
According to reports, he had gone to present a tractor that the Ministry of Agriculture had given to Wera Catholic Parish.
According to his official Twitter account, in the presence of minister Ecweru, agriculture minister Hon. Frank K. Tumwebaze presented a 75 HP tractor and its equipment to the parish priest of Wera Catholic Parish.
“We appreciate your good leadership of your people, Hon Ecweru. To fully commercialize agriculture and boost the total agricultural output of our nation, we are actively assisting all types of farmers, whether small and large, Tumwebaze stated.
Therefore, Okurut entered the church silently and made his way to the altar at a subsequent church service that preacher Ecweru attended.
Before approaching the unaware pastor who was busy addressing the crowd, he kneeled down and made the sign of the cross.
The minister was approached by Okurut, who spoke to him in a low voice before giving him a hard slap on the ear.
As his bodyguards rushed in to restrain Okurut, the minister, who was stunned, luckily blocked his second slap as he prepared it.
At the delivery of a tractor by Minister Tumwebaze, Minister Ecweru was present.
Okurut is being held at the Wera police station pending inquiries, according to Oscar Ageca, the interim police spokesperson for East Kyoga.
Social media goes crazy
Since last night, there have been a variety of responses to the terrible incident on social media.
Some assert that Okurut was allegedly seeking revenge for Soroti Diocese churchmen who were hurt in an assault by Ecweru, who was the minister of disaster preparedness at the time, in May 2021.
According to Rt. Rev. Kosea Odongo, the bishop of the Soroti Diocese, minister Ecweru attacked three clergymen and used his bodyguard, Juma Odiope, as cover. Ecweru claimed the men had encroached on his land at Wera Town Council.
After receiving serious beatings, Benjamin Otasono and Simon Peter Eriku of the Aten and St. John churches, respectively, and Rev. Simon Peter Olato, the parish priest of the Wera Church of Uganda, were taken to St. Peter’s Medical Center in Soroti City.
On St. John CoU’s land in Wera, they were discovered sowing cassava and tree seedlings.
According to Rev. Olato, the minister beat him and slapped the two lay readers before ordering his bodyguard Juma Odiope to continue and beat them with a metal rod.
Rev. Olato claims that the Wera Police Post rejected to file a report and instead directed them to the Amuria Central Police Station.
According to reports, the officer in command, who can only be identified as Oyugi, declared the situation was beyond of his purview.
The pastor was allegedly attacked by the clergy when he tried to find out more about the site, according to East Kyoga PRO Ageca.
