14-yr-old girl pins UPDF soldier in court over defiling her

New VisionSept 8, 2021Read original

The victim (name withheld) told the court that in the morning hours of February 26, 2020, at Katabi Barracks while she was preparing to go to school, from a toilet, Tumwesigye called her to help him wash the utensils and upon reaching his compound, he told her to enter and wash them from inside his house.

She further told court chaired by Lt Gen. Andrew Gutti that she hesitated at first but the officer pulled her inside, pushed her to the bed where he tied her with ropes and a cloth in her mouth and ordered her not to make any noise as she tried to make an alarm.

Tumwesigye who was wrapped in only a towel then defiled her.

She added that he later told her to leave, giving her a sh1000 note and told her not to tell anyone about what had happened or else risk losing her life.

Flanked by her mother who was in tears throughout the court session, the girl who was 13 at the time of the assault, said she left in pain but feared to tell anyone about what had happened. She wore her uniform and went to school.

She added that her mother later took her for a medical examination.

When asked whether she knew Tumwesigye before the incident, the minor identified him as the father of her friend but that she only knew him as Rajab.

State witness Sgt Adiga Mawa, 34, a commander at Katabi Barracks told the court that he saw the girl entering Tumwesigye’s house on a fateful morning and later learnt that the girl had been defiled.

Prosecutor Lt Alex Mukwana requested for an adjournment to September 21 to bring another witness and the accused’s lawyer Maj. Kamanda Mutungi did not object.