By Jeff Lule

THE Police have dismissed claims by Angello Pollino, a Catholic Evangelist in northern Uganda, that he sacrificed over 70 people.

Pollino 60, a resident of Adoki-Imeldi village in Apac district, who claimed that he sacrificed people, including his own son, was broadcast on British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) last month.

“The information Pollino gave to BBC about his involvement in child sacrifice was ‘a pack of lies’ which has tarnished the image of the country,” Moses Binoga, the head of the anti-human sacrifice and trafficking task force, said yesterday.

“We have him under custody as we continue with investigations into the matter. We want to get statements from whoever was involved before taking Pollino and his colleagues to court,” Binoga said.

He was addressing a press conference at the offices of the African Network for Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and offices in Kampala
In a televised documentary by a BBC journalist, Tim Whewel, on January 7, Pollino claimed he had sacrificed the people during the 1980s and 90s while working as a traditional healer.

The documentary included a picture showing a group of former traditional healers in northern Uganda dramatising how they allegedly killed their victims, a practice the broadcast claimed was continuing to date.

Binoga said they are also investigating Whewel’s professional record and the purpose of his visit to Uganda.