FINALLY! Arua Catholic Diocese Vicar General, Parish Council Members Forced To Record Statements At Police
Albino speaks as his members looked on
ARUA. At last, the Vicar General of Arua Catholic Diocese, Monsignor Kasto Adeti and the members of Ediofe Cathedral Parish Council who were accused of assaulting Pontius Afayo Nuffiason, the Director of Happy Day Nursery and Primary school in Arua city, have recorded statements at police.
The suspects recorded statements at Ayivu West Division police station in Onduparaka last week after nearly a month of being accused of assault.
On Friday March 7, 2025 at around 9:30am, Monsignor Adeti, also the Parish Priest of Ediofe Cathedral Parish, personally led the Parish Council members to Afayo’s residence (the compound of Happy Day Nursery school section) where they allegedly assaulted him.
The men of God stormed Afayo’s premises in an attempt to stop the ongoing construction of his school kitchen, claiming that he was building it on church land.
In the process, Afayo claimed that the group started beating him up until he got a chance to run away when they grabbed his phone.
Afayo immediately registered a case of assault and criminal trespass 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, fresh reports emerging from police indicate that Monsignor Adeti and his Parish Council members have finally been forced to record statements at police.
The source at police, who preferred anonymity, said the file has already been taken to the Resident State Attorney (RSA) for perusal and legal guidance.
The source said thereafter, a decision will be taken on the suspects based on the advice given by RSA.
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.”
On contrary, Arua Albino, the chairperson of Andruvu, Komite and Oruvu commonly referred to as AKO community, whose grandparents leased land to the Catholic Italian Missionaries in 1920 for 99 years, said Afayo’s land is outside the land leased to Arua Catholic Diocese.
Albino said Monsignor Adeti and the Parish Council members errored by attacking Afayo, saying his land isn’t in the 200 acres leased to the Italians.
“Afayo bought his land from us, the customary owners of the land here. His boundary is clear and all his documents are authentic. So, it was not right for Adeti to go and attack him because his land is clearly outside the land our grandparents leased to the diocese for 99 years which expired in 2019. The good thing is, some of us who have documents in regard to the lease, are still alive and we shall continue defending Afayo until nobody disturbs him over that land anymore,” Albino said in an interview on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
