Four-Year-Old Girl Enrolled On PEP As Defilement Cases Escalate in Luwero

A four-year-old girl in Luwero district has been enrolled on Post Exposure Prophylaxis to protect her from contracting HIV/AIDS after being defiled by a 56-year-old man. The minor, a pupil in Baby Class at Katuum Asubira Primary school is alleged to have been defiled by the suspect identified as Mugagga Matovu.

The suspect lives a stone's throw away from the school premises. The victim's mother explains that on June 21st, 2022 her child returned home at break time with her knickers in her hand crying that she had been defiled by Mugagga.

She explains that together with teachers, they immediately arrested Mugagga and locked him in a classroom till Police transferred him to Luwero Central Police Station for interrogation. It is alleged that the suspect admitted to committing the offense and asked to settle the case with the parents of the victim in vain.

The mother of the victim explains health workers at Luwero Police Health Center examined the minor transferring her to Luwero Hospital where she enrolled in Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent her from contracting HIV/AIDs.

// Cue in: “I gave PEP…

Cue out;….to sleep,”//

Luganda Byte

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Cue out;….ffe abazadde,”//

The father's victim says that apart from struggling to take the drugs, the minor is traumatized following the defilement. He has since asked Police and Court to ensure that the suspect gets the maximum sentence for the offense.

// Cue in: “Omwana wange….

Cue out;…bwebwetaagisa,”//

Emmanuel Nsubuga, a local leader in Luwero town has condemned the rising cases of defilement in the area. He, however, says that only a few suspects are successfully prosecuted, which doesn't deter others from committing the same.

Living Twazagye, the Luwero District Police Commander, says that the suspect is in custody at Luwero Central Police station. He says that police have already examined the suspect and victim as part of the investigations into the case.

Twazagye says that they have preferred charges of aggravated defilement against the suspect and forwarded his file to the Resident State Attorney for sanctioning.

According to the Police Crime Report for 2021, Luwero registered 76 defilement cases and ranked in the second position with the highest number of cases across the country. Mukono district came first after registering 100 cases.

Several cases remain unreported at Police stations compared to reports from health centers. According to the Luwero District Health report, at least 16,163 girls below the age of 19 years got pregnant in the 2020/21 financial year. Of these, 442 were below 15 years of age.