Intern nurse held over raping pregnant patients

Police in Entebbe Municipality are holding an intern male nurse on allegations of raping female patients at Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital.

The deputy spokesperson of Kampala Metropolitan Police, Mr Luke Owoyesigyire, said the intern, who practices gynaecology, was arrested on Friday for allegedly raping a female patient at the hospital.

According to police’s preliminary findings, the suspect has been targeting pregnant women who visit the facility.

The suspect is reported to have been using chloroform to drug the women before raping them.
“Kampala Metropolitan Police are currently investigating the allegations; the suspect identified his victims from the gynaecology ward and then doused them using a substance suspected to be chloroform before raping them,” Mr Owoyesigyire said yesterday.

Police said they have so far identified one victim who was raped and another one who survived the rape.
“Suspected chloroform substances were recovered from his place of residence at the hospital, and a letter was found where he requested to be prayed for over immoral thoughts he had been experiencing,” he said.

Police appeal
Mr Owoyesigyire urged anyone who may have been a victim to come forward and report to police.
“We take all allegations of sexual assault very seriously, and we are committed to ensuring that justice is served for all victims. We would also like to reassure the public that the safety and security of patients in hospitals is of utmost importance to us, and we will work closely with all stakeholders to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future,” he said.

The hospital director, Mr Steven Kyebambe, condemned the alleged act by the intern nurse.
“As we speak, the culprit has been apprehended and investigations are ongoing. We condemn that act. We have taken measures and assure the public this kind of thing will not appear again in our hospital,” he said.

Entebbe Municipality Mayor Fabrice Rulinda said his office had previously received reports of patients getting raped and molested by some of the workers at the hospital at night, which prompted him to alert security officials that led to the arrest of the suspect.

“We pray that the law takes its course and these women get justice, we are holding the hospital administration accountable to ensure that this kind of act doesn’t happen again. This is a place where our people come to find help not to get hurt,” Mr Rulinda said.

Police also appealed to men to always escort their wives for antenatal care to hospital to avoid such incidents.

What the law says
 Article 123 of the Penal Code Act, 1950 states:  “Any person who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent, or with her consent, if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind or by fear of bodily harm, or by means of false representations as to the nature of the act, or in the case of a married woman, by personating her husband, commits the felony termed rape."