A man sentenced to 45 years in prison for kidnapping and detaining a two-year-old girl for over a year, accusing her parents of poisoning his chicken, has had his jail term altered to life imprisonment.

On Wednesday, court heard that on July 19, 2008, at Namayaga village in Rakai district, by force or fraud, Stephen Wasswa kidnapped and detained the girl with the intent to murder her or dispose of the body after she dies, and he immediately vanished from the neighbourhood.

The victim was discovered a year-and-a-half later dumped in a bush, mentally and physically disabled, which resulted in the arrest of Wasswa and his subsequent imprisonment.

Dissatisfied with the judgement, the appellant appealed against the 45-year sentence, arguing that it was harsh.

On the other hand, the Director of Public Prosecutions asked the court to enhance his sentence to life imprisonment given the unique circumstances of the case.

On Wednesday, Court of Appeal justices Richard Buteera, Catherine Bamugemereire and Eva Luswata, agreed with Chief State Attorney Immaculate Angutoko from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) that the sentence has to be enhanced to life imprisonment.

“We find that this was a good case for enhancement of sentence. As a result, we allow the respondent's application to enhance the sentence from 44 years imprisonment to life imprisonment by invoking this court's powers under section 1l of the Judicature Act and Section 132 of the Trial on Indictments Act,” Buteera ruled.

Commenting on her condition, the justices observed that the girl with a visibly contorted frame, can neither walk nor talk.

“It is hard to imagine that this was a normal two-year-old child living a normal life, before this incident. From the evidence, this court found that the victim's tongue was severed, her teeth were yanked out, with several cuts in the stomach,” Buteera noted.

The justices further observed that the girl’s fingers and feet were maimed, her skull had become as soft as that of a newborn baby and her labia minora had been mutilated.

The court also observed that the girl lost the ability to chew or feed herself and can neither roll nor turn.

ODPP welcomes ruling

The judgement, according to the ODPP spokesperson Jacquelyn Okui, is a success for the victims of crime, particularly cases of child sacrifice and human trafficking which their office in conjunction with other justice stakeholders are grappling with.