Defiled girl’s mother tasks police over suspect
Buikwe. A mother of a 14-year-old girl, who was defiled and impregnated, has tasked police to take the suspect to court or re-arrest him after he was released from Lugazi Police Station.
The victim’s mother, 32, said on Sunday that the crime occurred in Kibugu A Village, Lugazi Municipality in Buikwe District and was on January 8 reported at Lugazi Police Station under file reference number CRB/034/2019.
The mother, who works in Lugazi Taxi Park, said her daughter was defiled and impregnated but the suspect was arrested and later released the without her knowledge.
“The suspect is now threatening us over phone, warning that he will cut us to pieces if I do not drop the case against him,” the mother says.
She says her daughter, who is supposed to be in Primary Seven, is six months pregnant. She said whenever she goes to Lugazi Police Station to check on the progress of the case, she is told the file is with Lugazi Resident State Prosecutor (RSP).
“When I shared the matter with a friend who works at Lugazi Municipal Council, he tried to trace the file at the RSP’s office but was told that it is still at the police station,” she said.
“The RSP has instead written to the officer-in-charge of Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at Lugazi Police Station, requesting for both the file and suspect,” she added.
Receiving complaints
On February 7, the RSP, Mr John Ochopa, wrote to the officer-in-charge of CID) at Lugazi Police Station acknowledging the receipt of complaint and asked police to forward the case file to him.
“. . . Urgently, trace for the case file and submit to us so that we address the complaint,” Mr Ochopa said.
The mother now says police have frustrated her efforts to seek justice for her daughter. She says the police told her they don’t have capacity to look for the suspect and asked her to look for him.
“They [police] released the suspect and are now asking me to produce him because he is needed in court. Whenever they see me at the police station, they ask for transport to track him, but with my kind of job, I can’t afford,” she said.
The Ssezibwa Region Police Spokesperson, Ms Hellen Butoto, confirmed the case but said the girl complicated the matter by making contradicting statements on two men responsible for the defilement and pregnancy.
Ms Butoto said the girl, in her statement, denied knowing the first suspect and the case was put under fresh investigation.
“When the file was sent to the RSA for sanctioning, we were directed to release the suspect. We act on the RSP’s directive,” Ms Butoto said.
