99-year-old man arrested for defiling 8-year-old granddaughter

A 99-year-old man has been arrested and charged with the defilement of his eight-year-old granddaughter in Buvuma District.

The elderly man, a resident of Namatooke, Busanzi Sub County, Buvuma District, has already recorded a charge and caution statement with detectives. He is due to be arraigned in court today in the same district on charges of aggravated defilement.

Central East region Police spokesman, Mr Lameck Kigozi said the incident happened on January 11 2012 and enough evidence has been got that confirms the defilement of the girl.

“The elderly man has been arrested as the prime suspect and he is under our custody. The aggravated defilement charge we preferred has been sanctioned by the Director of Public Prosecution so we are taking him to court probably on Tuesday,” Mr Kigozi said yesterday.

Aggravated defilement charge attracts a death penalty on conviction.

It is alleged that on the January 11, the mother of the victim left the girl in the care of the suspect before running an errand. “When she came back she found that the girl wasn’t in her moods, so she asked what had happened. The young girl then told her that she had been defiled by her grandfather,” Mr Kigozi said.

The mother of the girl then reported the incident to the police. Police investigations and the police surgeon revealed that the girl had indeed been defiled.

But the accusations have caused a storm among the village residents, with most people, including relatives of accused and the girl, saying it’s impossible for a frail elderly man to rape the girl. Some of the residents tried to resist the arrest of the accused but armed officers prevailed.

Mr Kigozi told this paper that sexual crimes involving aged people are very rare in his region, but investigations reveal that it is true.

Defilement is the most prevalent crime committed in the country, with over 6000 cases investigated annually. Most of them are however committed by men below the age of 30.