My uncle’s greed drove him to attack me with acid - Semakula

Meddie Ibrahim Semakula and his wife Habiba Nansubuga. Photo by Coleb Mugume

What you need to know:

  • The now 39-year-old father of seven says he is jobless.
  • In the past, he has tried to set up a couple of businesses including one that involves selling charcoal to fend for his family but these have often collapsed.
  • Recently the doctors informed him that there is little they can do to regain his lost sight.

It is a hot Wednesday afternoon when I arrive at Nakifuma Trading Centre, a county located in Mukono District.
A few metres off the main road are a number of houses including one belonging to Meddie Ibrahim Semakula. I find the door open and Semakula seated on a mat. He is wearing a black pair of trousers and a striped blue long-sleeved shirt. My curiosity arouses me upon seeing a piece of cloth covering his head. It is not until five minutes later when he tells me that his face is disfigured.
“My face is damaged. It is not pleasing to look at,” he mentions. When I proceed to inquire what happened, he sighs before continuing the conversation. Semakula takes me back to the year 1993 when he lost his father. Being the eldest son, he was made heir to his deceased father’s properties. He has six sisters and two brothers.
Among the relatives who were not happy about the inheritance was one of Semakula’s uncles who wanted sole ownership of his late brother’s assets. So, he crafted up an evil plan intended to end his nephew’s life.

What happened?
In 1996, he decided to visit Semakula at their family residence. It was night time when the then 18-year-old had just returned back home.
“The home people stated that he was specifically looking for me. When I finally linked up with him somewhere in the compound, he poured a liquid over my upper body,” he recalls.
Semakula reminisces screaming his lungs out as well as running up and down the house as the liquid burnt his body.
“My upper body suddenly became hot,” he says, adding, “a few moments later, I saw my uncle again walking towards me with a basin in his hands. It had some liquid inside it. Before I knew it, he poured it on my face and took off.”
Just like his upper body, his face became hot too.
“It was as if someone was burning me alive,” he says.
The agonising screams Semakula made prompted the people inside the house to run to his side to inquire what was wrong. They discovered the liquid was nothing other than acid. Semakula was rushed to Nagalama hospital to save his life.
“The pain was indescribable. It was too much,” he says. The extent of Semakula’s wounds resulted in his transfer to Mulago hospital where he was admitted for a couple of weeks.
“Slowly, I started responding to treatment and when my condition improved, I was discharged,” he says.

One of his other uncles catered for the medical bills. Unfortunately, Semakula was unable to continue with studies because of his condition that also left him completely blind.
Meanwhile, the accused perpetrator of the crime was arrested and taken to Nagalama police station. He was later remanded to Kauga Prison, Mukono. A couple of months later, he was released.
“I was very hurt upon learning that my uncle was a free man,” Semakula says, adding, “But I decided to forgive him and leave the rest to God.”
About three years ago, this uncle fell ill and died. Semakula says his uncle’s death was probably justice served by God.
“Our Father in Heaven does not eat bribes. If you do wrong, your mistakes will always catch up with you,” he notes.

Life now
The now 39-year-old father of seven says he is jobless. In the past, he has tried to set up a couple of businesses including one that involves selling charcoal to fend for his family but these have often collapsed.
“Sometimes I think people simply avoided dealing with me because of my condition,” he says.
Although it is more than 20 years since the incident happened, some of the wounds visible on Semakula’s body depict a picture of a recent occurrence.
“Some of the fresh wounds are because of the skin grafting treatment I receive from time to time (grafting involves transplantation of skin in order to provide a temporary wound covering),” Semakula notes.

Nowadays, he walks with the aid of a walking stick to find his way around the house. A family member helps guide him in circumstances when he is moving farther distances from home.
He sends a strong message to relatives of different families to stop battling for properties of deceased family members.
“Work hard for yours and stop fighting for resources that do not belong to you. Such greed drove my uncle to end my life,” he says, adding, “Such incidents should stop manifesting in our society today.”
Recently the doctors informed him that there is little they can do to regain his lost sight. However, what they can do is improve the condition of his skin through grafting.

What his wife says

“My husband and I are childhood friends. Our friendship struck before the acid attack happened. Meddie would make me laugh with his funny stories. Also, he was very knowledgeable about many things. I was saddened when that incident happened. I wanted to be by his side but his mother preferred to take care of him alone for the first few months. I came in later when he was improving. This was when our love started and eventually we got married. We have six children. Our first born is 17-years-old and the last one is four years. People have said so many negative things about my husband but I never listen to them. Some even wonder why I decided to settle down with him out of all the other men. Well, my response is and will always be - I love my husband and his condition will never make me leave him.” Habiba Nansubuga