Senior cop committed to High Court over defilement

By Henry Nsubuga

Charles Oriku, a senior police officer at the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), represents an organ of government charged with overseeing peace and protecting people and their property. "To Serve and Protect", read the Police motto.

And at 54 years of age, Oriku is a police officer with experience and exected to mentor the younger generation of the Force.

However, other than discharge his duties with honour and discipline expected of a senior police officer, Oriku took the side of the very characters that he is supposed to rid soceity of.

Oriku, attached to Southern Regional Police headquarters in Masaka District is alleged to have defiled his 17-year old stepdaughter.

Prosecution led by Sam Wayira told court on Tuesday that while at his residence at Kayanja village in Naggojje Sub County in Mukono district on January 27, 2013, Oriku called his daughter to his bedroom and asked her to look for his shirt.

Court committed the senior Police officer to High Court to answer charges of aggravated defilement.

Wayira said that the girl, who is in senior three, was alone at home with Oriku when her mother, Sarah Namusoke, had gone to the shop. 

He said that as she was still looking for the shirt, Oriku pulled her down and forcefully had unprotected sex with her.

The girl said that when Oriku saw her bleeding, he stopped and asked her never to reveal the secret to anybody.

She said that she went and cleaned herself but feared to tell her mother.

Wayira also told court that it was William Nsubuga, the school’s director who took the girl for medical examination after she started falling sick regularly. The results showed that she was pregnant.

When she was put to a task to reveal who was responsible for the pregnancy, she said it was Oriku who defiled her. It was at that point that Nsubuga reported the matter to Police and Oriku was arrested.

Oriku was not allowed to enter any plea because the offence he committed is capital which can only be tried by     High Court.

Oriku was remanded to Luzira prison until the next convenient High Court session.