No, Ugandan Police did not use a catapult to strike a news reporter for asking irrelevant questions.

Rating Justification

The iVerify Network of Fact-Checking Desks has fact-checked this content and established that it is False.

To arrive to this conclusion, the iVerify Network of Fact-Checking Desks has conducted the following process. A reverse image search has unveiled that the image in question was initially published on the Uganda Police Force website on April 12, 2021. The image was taken during a press briefing led by Fred Enanga, who serves as the spokesperson for the Uganda Police. During this briefing, Enanga provided a demonstration to a group of news reporters. He showcased the modus operandi employed by a criminal gang that had recently targeted multiple vehicles trapped in a traffic jam along Wakaliga Road. Notably, the perpetrators had employed catapults during this incident while riding on a motorcycle.

Furthermore, we came across a video of the identical press briefing conducted by Enanga, which was broadcast on UBC Television Uganda, the nation’s official broadcaster, on April 13, 2021. In this video, he demonstrated to news reporters how criminal gangs employ catapults to attack vehicles, all the while asserting that the police are actively engaged in investigating these attacks.