How fake doctor allegedly raped 60 women

Ashraf Lubega lied about being a doctor. At 18 years, Police said, he opened a Facebook account as a set-up for his victims.

Underneath this trap was a promise for medical jobs. A total of 60 professional midwives turned up for interviews.

By the time the Police arrested him, the quack doctor from Katosi in Mukono district had allegedly raped all of them. 

“On Facebook, Lubega, created a fake account and identified himself as Dr Ronnie of Medical Scrub Uganda, which he used to advertise for medical jobs,” Fred Enanga, the Police spokesperson, told journalists on Monday during the weekly security briefing at Police headquarters in Naguru, Kampala.

The investigations, Enanga added, show that at one time, Lubega, who also operated a “WhatsApp’’ group to lure the victims, allegedly raped eight women within three days.

“In some cases, Lubega used the Facebook account to interview his victims and also scheduled physical meetings,” Enanga said.

Without a fixed place of abode, Enanga said, the suspect allegedly booked lodges within the districts of Mukono and Kayunga.

The suspect, Enanga added, also used the lodges to avoid detection, until one midwife he allegedly raped on March 11, 2023, reported to the Police. 

The key question under investigation, Enanga said, is: “Why would one fall victim to an 18-year-old?” 

“You can’t become a doctor at that age!” Enanga added, wondering why midwives failed to detect the danger early.

“The suspect is a peasant from Katosi with no idea of medical terms. How can a professional fail to detect such? At least the victims would have queried his education background to survive,” he added, noting that the number of victims is expected to rise.

The 60 victims, Enanga said, have been subjected to a medical test as investigations take shape.

Enanga noted that security have scaled up deployment ahead of the long Easter holiday in a continued bid to fight crime.

Over the weekend, he added, more than 45 suspected hardcore criminals were also rounded up over armed robbery, murder and rape charges.

While addressing journalists at the Police headquarters in Naguru, Enanga, who was flanked by his deputy, Polly Namaye, who has returned from an 18-month tour of service in South Sudan, said Lubega’s victims applied for jobs via Facebook.

Lubega was arrested by the Police Flying Squad Unit under the Crime Intelligence Directorate. 

More cases

At the same press conference, the deputy Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Luke Owoyesigyire, said the hunt for another doctor has been mounted by Police over allegations that he raped 10 pregnant women in Mukono district.

Owoyesigyire identified the suspect as Dennis Kutesa. Kutesa, Police said, identified his victims from a gynaecology ward, and then drugged them using a substance suspected to be chloroform before raping them.

In February, Police also arrested an intern nurse at Entebbe Grade B Hospital over allegations of rape and attempted rape of two female patients.

Earlier this year, Police arrested a doctor identified as Mark Siisi over allegations that he raped a 19-year-old medical student at the school of hygiene in Budaka district.

“The doctor raped the victim who he put on bed rest after he administered malaria treatment on her. 

She blacked out and woke up hours later with inner clothing removed and traces of semen which emerged from her body,” Enanga said.

The student reported the unethical behaviour of the doctor, and Police arrested him. 

Police report

According to the 2022 Annual Police Crime Report, a total of 1,623 rape cases were reported to Police in 2022, compared to 1,486 cases reported in 2021, giving an increase of 9.2%.  

By the end of 2022, a total of 557 cases of rape were taken to court, out of which three cases secured convictions and 554 cases are still pending in court. A total of 1,439 female adults and 184 female juveniles were victims of rape.

Article 123 of the Penal Code Act Chapter 120 stipulates that a person who commits rape is liable to suffer death upon conviction.

This article appeared in New Vision of April 4, 2023