School owner in defilement case collapses in police cell

The school director suspected to have defiled six Primary Seven candidates in Luweero District is hospitalised under police watch after fainting in the cells.

The suspect, according to police, was on Sunday evening referred to Mulago Hospital from Luweero Hospital after fainting at Luweero Central Police Station where he has been held since his arrest on October 29.

“The suspect was not given police bond but was referred to Mulago Hospital when our officers rushed him to Luweero Hospital on Sunday,” Mr Sam Twineamazima, the regional police spokesperson, said yesterday.

Mr Twineamazima said the suspect will appear in court on return from hospital when the investigations are complete.

While the police did not disclose the type of ailment, witnesses at the police revealed that the suspect collapsed and was paralysed before he was transported to Luweero Hospital.

Meanwhile, the case has raised a debate about the safety of children put under the care of some learning centres that have questionable administrative structures.

Ms Anna Mary Namatovu, a retired teacher and resident of Luweero Town Council, is disturbed that the mentioned school has no facilities set up as dormitories for the children.

“The information we have is that the children share the same building with the school director. This is very dangerous. Authorities in Luweero should inspect the school and get to know how the school operates a boarding section without specified dormitory facilities,” she says.

While the school has no Uneb registered centre, this newspaper has leant that the candidates were registered at one of the UPE schools in Luweero Sub-county.

Woman wanted
Meanwhile, police in Luweero District are hunting for a woman accused of defiling an 11-year-old boy.

Mr Twineamazima said the incident occurred on November 4 in Namaliga East Zone, Bombo Town Council.

The victim, according to the police, was intercepted by the woman, who is known to him, as he went to catch grasshoppers in the night.

“The suspect allegedly told the victim to go to her home where she was supposed to hand him unidentified items,” Mr Twineamazima said on November 5.

“When they got to the house, she closed the door, undressed the boy and reportedly had sex with him after threatening to kill him in case he disclosed it to anybody,” he added.

When the victim went home crying and told his parents about the incident, he was taken to a nearby facility before the case was reported to police. 

The case is among the rarely reported incidents in the area, but a police officer conversant with investigations said most of them are resolved at community level.

He said the victims are at times compromised not to report the cases. According to the recently released Annual Police Crime Report for 2022, Luweero Police Station registered the highest number of crimes countrywide at 1,261, followed by Old Kampala Police Division at 1,201 cases.

According to the crime report, Luweero District ranks second with the most reported crimes involving domestic violence at 501, while Kiryandongo District leads with 520 cases.

Likewise, Luweero topped the list of districts with high child crime in the country.

Luweero Resident District Commissioner Richard Bwabye said most of the children that found themselves on the wrong side of the law failed to go back to school after the two-year Covid-19 induced lockdown.

While releasing the 2022 annual crime report on February 22, the Inspector General of Police, Mr Martins Okoth-Ochola, blamed the rise in the number of cases to the re-opening of the economy following the lockdown that was instituted to curb the spread of the Covid-19 disease.

According to the report, 231,653 cases were recorded for the year 2022 compared to 196, 081 cases registered in 2021.

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