Esther Kyazike, the mother of a 5-year-old girl who was allegedly defiled by her father has sought police protection citing enormous threats from the relatives of her husband. The victim was allegedly defiled at the start of this month in their home in Kyabando village, Nansana Municipality, Wakiso district.
Kyazike opened a case at Nansana police station, which started hunting for the culprit. According to Kyazike, she left the girl in the care of her father but upon her return, she noticed the daughter was walking awkwardly and shading tears.
“I asked the girl what had happened but she declined to tell me anything. But I became suspicious and I checked her. I realized she was bleeding from her private parts and I quickly reported a case at the Nansana police station. My husband had already disappeared from home,” Kyazike said.
In her statement to the Child and family protection unit, Kyazike expresses fear for her own safety and that of her daughter, saying that they have been warned to prepare for the worst if she does not forgive her husband.
“I have come here with my daughter for your protection because I fear there is a plan to attack me and abduct the girl by some of her relatives. Ever since the suspect was reported, a number of police officers have tried to convince me that I should withdraw the case because the suspect is my husband,” Kyazze explains.
A senior detective at Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), said Kyazike’s latest revelations cast doubt on whether Nansana police will handle the case well. “She has come to us accusing Nansana police officers and Proscovia Nabyonga of trying hard to frustrate the investigations. She said she has got information that one of Nabyonga’s children has planned to abduct the victim. She said she could not take this information lightly and she now needs protection,” the detective said.
Kyanite has now stopped picking up calls from strangers for fear of being tracked down from her hideout under the close watch of police personnel from the child and family protection unit. Uganda Radio Network (URN) understands that the CID director Maj Tom Magambo has tasked a team to handle Kyazike’s complaints and establish whether there are any police officers hobnobbing with the suspect’s family to ‘kill’ this case.
Often times cases of defilement, aggravated defilement, and rape have been frustrated with the connivance of police officers, the accused’s relatives, or family members of the victim.