Woman raped, left unconscious after accepting lift from stranger
Police in Njeru municipality are looking for a man they say abandoned his car (pictured) and fled after allegedly raping a 20-year-old lady who had stopped him for a lift on Friday, July 10, 2020. PHOTO/POLICE
Police in Njeru municipality, Buikwe District are investigating rape allegations by a recuperating 20-year-old woman who was found unconscious in a car she says her rapist abandoned on Friday.
The Ssezibwa Region Police Spokesperson, Ms Hellen Butoto, said preliminary investigations suggest she was trying to beat the curfew and stopped the stranger for a lift to Bugembe, on the outskirts of Jinja City.
However, the motorists reportedly drove her to a nearby sugarcane plantation and raped her in the car.
"The lady, a worker at Nytil, at around 9pm stopped a car at the New Bridge roundabout on the Njeru side, and asked to be taken to Bugembe but instead ended up being raped.
"We are also investigating whether she was off duty at that time because guidelines issued to avoid the spread of Covid-19, say that everyone is expected to be home by 7pm. The curfew is still in force to-date," said Ms Butoto.
Ms Butoto further said efforts are underway to speak to a concerned passerby who claims to have heard a lady screaming for help inside a car around that time.
"When the suspect heard a vehicle heading towards his direction at Kidawalime-Nyenga Road in Bukaya, he fled into the sugarcane plantation, leaving his victim inside the car registration number UBE 249X that police has impounded at Njeru Police Station," Ms Butoto added.
Ms Butoto said the lady, who is currently undergoing medical examination, says the suspect "is in his early 50s".
Ms Butoto has cautioned the public against seeking and accepting lifts from strangers driving private cars during the day or at night.
