Cop in Uganda aims catapult at reporter for asking ‘irrelevant questions’?

Adding to the slew of “attacks” on journalists, a police spokesperson in Uganda was photographed with a catapult that he allegedly aimed at a reporter.

An image circulating on social media claims to show a newly-appointed police spokesperson in Uganda hitting a news reporter with a catapult for asking “irrelevant questions”.

However, as it turns out, the news was fake.

“Newly appointed Uganda police spokesman hits news reporter with a catapult for asking irrelevant question [sic],” one Twitter user wrote while sharing the pic on the microblogging platform, where it has racked up over 25,000 ‘likes’ and nearly 10,000 ‘retweets,’ read the tweet.

The image that went viral on Twitter shows the policeman holding on to a catapult at what is seemingly a press conference. The presence of several microphones seen placed in front of him, with the cop prepared to release the spring of the catapult makes it seem like he was serious about using the device.

Unfortunately for the netizens, the claim is false. No police spokesperson in Uganda hit any journalist with a catapult.

The 2021 image is from a press conference in which cops recovered a consignment of dangerous catapults in Kampala, reports Uganda Radio Network. At the time, police spokesperson Fred Enanga had cautioned against the dangers of catapults in a press briefing.