Assault Victim Wants Arua Catholic Diocese Vicar General, Parish Council Members Arrested
Monsignor Kasto Adeti, the Vicar General of Arua Catholic Diocese
ARUA. Pontius Afayo Nuffiason, the Director of Happy Day Nursery and Primary school in Arua city, has castigated police for delaying to arrest Monsignor Kasto Adeti, the Vicar General of Arua Catholic Diocese and the members of Ediofe Cathedral Parish council whom he (Adeti) allegedly led to assault him.
While addressing journalists on Friday, March 28, 2025, Afayo wondered why police are taking this long to arrest the suspects who assaulted him at his school under the command of Monsignor Adeti, four weeks down the road.
“It was on Friday March 7th 2025 at 9:30am when the Vicar General of Arua Diocese Monsignor/Fr. Kasto Adeti, the Parish Priest of Ediofe Cathedral Parish illegally led the Parish Council members to my residence, school office to kill me,” Afayo stated.
“The surprise appearance of the council members on the school compound that I saw through the window made me come out of the office to clearly see the people in front of the office. When I was seen by the people, Fr. Kasto Adeti said: ‘He is there!’ – the people all turned to me and started to advance angrily to me demanding my phone because I took their photo. I entered my office,” Afayo added.
He noted that in the process, some of the charged council members rushed into his office using both doors which were open.
“One called Anguzu held me tight with hands on my body while Amandua, Adriko and another man whose name I do not know were punching /boxing my head, back, chest, ribs. Others were chanting, kill him. I threw the phone they were forcefully demanding to my secretary. Then one called Adriko rushed to grab the phone from the secretary. God then helped me to escape from more harm. I later reported the matter to the police,” Afayo explained.
The assault and criminal trespass case was immediately registered at Ayivu West police station in Onduparaka as SD REF: 17/07/03/2025.
But since then, Afayo said he is living in fear of his life because Monsignor Adeti and his group have not yet been arrested.
“I’m appealing to the police to speed up the processes of this case for these people to be arrested because this is a criminal offense. If it was an ordinary person like me, I should have already been arrested, why are they left out there to enjoy themselves as if they are not criminals?” Afayo asked.
“In this situation, I’m appealing to the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), as a citizen of this country, to speed up the sanctioning of this file if it has reached his office for action because my life is now in danger!” Afayo begged, adding that he doesn’t know whether police are giving the suspects time to come back and kill him this time round.
However, when contacted, Collins Asea, the West Nile police spokesperson, expressed ignorance over the case.
“I’m just hearing this case from you, but I will get in touch with the territorial police of Ayivu West to get more details so that we can bring this matter to its logical conclusion. However, I’m also urging the complainant not to sit down, you can come to the regional police office and raise your complaint; that one, you reported a case and the case has not been followed up properly by police and we shall take it on. Don’t just sit home and keep quiet that your case is dead, the region can handle your case,” Asea advised.
But in an earlier telephone interview, Monsignor Adeti denied the allegations of assaulting Afayo.
He instead said: “The Parish Council had gone there to see the extent of the land which Afayo had encroached on, and he decided to take our photo. As a result, some of our members grabbed that phone and they took it to the police. The police called us and we were there with them.”
“I never assaulted him. It was only some members of the Parish Council that went to him and grabbed the phone but they didn’t do anything,” Adeti emphasized.
This is the second time Monsignor Adeti who doubles as the Parish Priest of Ediofe Cathedral Parish is being accused of assault.
In 2020, Rev. Fr. Lazarus Ejoyi, a Priest attached to Arua Catholic Diocese, dragged Monsignor Adeti to court for assaulting him with a club thus breaking his arm and causing several other injuries on his body.
The case was later ruled in favour of Fr. Ejoyi with costs which Monsignor Adeti is yet to pay.
On the land encroachment allegation, Richard Bundu of Bundu and Co. Advocates, the lawyer representing Afayo, recently wrote to the lawyer of Arua Catholic Diocese, M/S Ederu and Gama Advocates and Solicitors, indicating that the land being claimed by the Diocese belongs to his client (Afayo) since time immemorial.
“…. It is rather your client who has been carrying out illegal activities she is complaining of especially cultivating on the suit land, planting mark stones and other similar activities on the suit land to our client’s detriment whenever she notices the absence of our client on the suit land,” the letter dated March 5, 2025 read in part.
According to Afayo, the case of the land the Diocese in claiming from him is in court, awaiting judgement for more than a year now.
So shameful for the Diocese.
They must pay for what they have started
Let them be arrested, they are torturing their brother, where are the whites who started the church, stop being stupid big men of church. You are the reason why we are still colonised. Taking our little money to foreign countries as offertory, here denying ur fellow black wealth even on his black land. Stop looting ur own people. Leave Afayo alone if truly bible has made you wise and if you were truly teaching the good ways.
It’s so unfortunate for e mighty dioses to be always deformed coz of e repeated actions of an individual who happens to be a priest of higher recognition , I recommend and propose that e Bishop shd take him for serious boxing such that he cld be assigned for new duty other than e current one where he lacks ability and devotion l beg to submit
This illegal act of trespass, phone robbery, assault with an intention to kill and malicious damages in my own residence,
school and office are acts that has no place in our current Uganda, East Africa, Africa and our World. Catholic Church in its preachings of holiness, respect for humanity and property outlined in the ten commandments in Arua Diocese under the leadership of colonial agents: Neocolonialists turned weapons against its own people. Working for the spiritual development of the people is replaced fraudulent land and property acquisition and killing of the property owners. The Vicar General Monsignor Kasto Adeti: the Parish Priest of Ediofe Cathedral showed this when he led the Parish Council on Friday March 7th 2025 to kill me in my residence, school and office. What is this type of leadership in the current situation of Uganda, East Africa and Africa? What are real objectives of the Catholic Church in Uganda and Africa? I bought this land from my fellow citizens in Uganda during the sales and purchase time in the years 2000 and 2003. Why should I be killed when I and my family are making our own contributions to the national growth and development? Is this an approved act by Vatican that services the works of catholic church in Uganda? How many Ugandans are still to suffer like me due to the malicious acts of catholic church officials and council in Arua Diocese? The quality of leadership and council: is this the problem? What kind of council meetings do take place in this great cathedral of catholic church? What type of ideologies and philosophies do currently exist in Arua Diocese? What new objectives are at work? Does our constitution have any place in this church of Arua Diocese if the leaders act the ways they did in assaulting, robbing, causing malicious damages? What is the future of our people at the phase of these acts by important spiritual leaders? Surprise!
What was done to me is a barbaric act. Arua Diocese administration and management now promotes barbarian acts against its people and people of Uganda.
Bad impression on faith leaders, they have to account.