Mukono blind man pleads for leniency after being convicted of defilement

MUKONO - “My Lord, I am blind and depend entirely on others for assistance. I cannot manage life in prison on my own."

Those were the words of Ivan Birungi, a 44-year-old blind man, shortly after he was convicted of defilement on Wednesday in Uganda's central district of Mukono.

Inside the courtroom, Chief Magistrate Paul Matyama convicted Birungi after he pleaded guilty to having had carnal knowledge with a 15-year-old girl.

Birungi is said to have hired the teenage girl as his helper due to his visual limitations.

The prosecution team, led by Mukono senior resident state attorney Josephine Nanyonga, had told court that the accused had reportedly sought the permission of the girl's parents to allow her assist him with domestic chores.

At the time, Birungi was a beggar on the streets of Kampala.

On February 2 this year, he is said to have taken his underage minder to a lodge, where he allegedly had sexual intercourse with her.

“He went on to threaten the girl that if she told anyone about what had transpired between them, he would dismiss her,” prosecution lead Nanyonga told court.

The sexual encounter was not a one-off, prosecutors said.

“In the morning, the girl started feeling pain in her genitals and asked Birungi to take her back to the village. Instead, Birungi just relocated from Kampala to Mukono and also hired a lodge where they spent another night together," said Nanyonga.

Court further heard that at that lodge, the girl managed to slip away and disclosed her experience to the lodge attendant, identified as Mary Nalumusi.

A guest reportedly overheard the conversation, which drew her attention. Concerned, the guest asked the lodge attendant why they had allowed a minor to sleep in the same room with an adult.

Court heard that Birungi is said to have informed the lodge management that the girl in her company was his daughter. Seeing that he was blind, the management did not sense anything wrong with booking the two in the same room.

Hours later, following the girl's revelation, the Police were alerted and arrived at the lodge to arrest and then charge Birungi.

'My first time'

Through his defence legal team led by Lydia Nanyombi, Birungi admitted to committing the offence and asked the court for a lenient sentence.

Making his case for leniency, he said he is a first-time offender and that being blind, he had already found a lot of difficulty behind bars during the remand period.

Birungi went on his knees to plead for forgiveness before God and the court.

“My Lord, I am blind and depend entirely on others for assistance. I cannot manage life in prison on my own. I need help with basic daily activities, including going to the toilet. I have never committed any offence before; this is my first time. I pray for the court’s leniency."

On the prosecution team, Nanyonga asked the court to adjourn the case to allow the prosecution time to consult the victim and her family and update them on the status of the matter.

“I will first seek their views before making submissions on the appropriate sentence to be imposed on the convict,” she said.

The magistrate adjourned the court until next Monday (March 2) when he will deliver the sentence.