One Killed as Police Rescue Teacher Accused of Defilement in Kole

What the report says

Police in Kole District, northern Uganda, said a nighttime operation to remove a teacher from an angry crowd ended in violence, leaving one civilian dead and three others injured. The incident took place at Abilonino Demonstration Primary School after residents allegedly detained a teacher accused of attempting to defile a 14-year-old pupil.

According to North Kyoga Regional Police spokesperson Patrick Jimmy Okema, two unidentified men first alerted officers at Abilonino Police Post. Police then dispatched officers to rescue the suspect, later identified as Okello Otim Samuel, but the officers were reportedly surrounded and held inside the same house. Reinforcements from Kole Central Police Station were called in, and a confrontation followed when the crowd began throwing stones at police.

Police said a stray bullet killed Morris Aluri, 28, a resident of Lwala Trading Centre in Ayer Sub-county, while two civilians — James Odongo, 15, and Daniel Obong, 23 — were injured. A police officer, Cpl Alfred Ojota, 54, was also hurt by stone-throwing. The wounded were taken to different health facilities, and Aluri’s body was moved to Lira Regional Referral Hospital mortuary for a postmortem.

Police said Okello has been charged with aggravated defilement and aggravated trafficking in children. The force also condemned mob justice and attacks on officers, urging the public to hand suspects over to law enforcement. As a broader context, child-protection cases in schools often draw strong community reactions in Uganda, though the specific allegations in this case remain under police investigation.