Today morning on The Fatboy Show, Presenter James Onen aka Fatboy questioned whether it was right for individuals to record video footage of the victims of yesterday’s bomb blasts instead of helping them.
Fatboy explained that whereas in Western countries people rush to help victims of accidents and other tragedies, in Uganda people resort to filming the events.
“Here it is about who breaks the story. It was so bad that even journalists themselves were doing the same, like they were reporting on things that hadn’t even happened yet; for instance one prominent journalist went on Twitter and reported that there was a bomb blast at Nakasero market yet there wasn't any,” said Olive.
Fatboy added that there was a rush to break news stories and film the most gruesome events that were happening by those who were interested in quick fame rather than helping those injured by the blasts.
However Sarah, a Co-host of the show, had mixed reactions about the event and said: “Sometimes people are in a rush to break the story and chase clout but it could also just be a natural response that would make a person freeze and not know how to react.”
“For instance the woman whose face was partially blown out, what could anybody do at that moment except to wait for an ambulance since police had sealed off the whole area. So perhaps that could be the means to attract attention and get her fast help. I am not condoning it but I think social media is the fastest way to spread information to reach those concerned to act,” she said.
Furthermore, she quoted Solomon Serwanja, a journalist who said that such information including videos prior and after the blasts, pictures, videos, bomb fragments, CCTV footage, hospital reports of the injured, the public and media all count in investigation. Olive added that the journalist asked for some of these videos to effectively inform the public about the happenings at the different bombed sites.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, Sarah and Lesham every weekday from 6am to 10am on RX Radio.
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