Candida jailed for falsely accusing soldiers of shaving her
Feb 18, 2011
ON May 11, 1999, <i>The Monitor</i> newspaper published a photo of soldiers forcefully shaving off the pubic hair of a nude woman. Thereafter, a 24-year-old woman, Candida Lakony, came forward, claiming to be the woman in the picture.
By EDWARD ANYOLI
ON May 11, 1999, The Monitor newspaper published a photo of soldiers forcefully shaving off the pubic hair of a nude woman. Thereafter, a 24-year-old woman, Candida Lakony, came forward, claiming to be the woman in the picture.
She said the shaving which took place in Gulu barracks, was masterminded by her ex-boyfriend, Warrant Officer II Nelson Kisale, of the UPDF 4th Division in Gulu.
The publication attracted outrage from womens rights activists and the public. President Yoweri Museveni reacted angrily, invited her to State House and promised to investigate and severely punish the errant soldiers.
Candida was later arrested and charged with giving false information to the Police. Monitor editors Wafula Ogutu, Charles Onyango-Obbo and David Ouma Balikowa, were also charged with publishing false news.
PROSECUTION
Prosecution produced witnesses including Lt. Charles Kitara, a soldier attached to Gulu Barracks, who testified that he was Candida’s neighbour in Gulu town. He said he knew Kisale and testified that Kisale and Candida were not in the picture. Kitara added that the site in the picture was not Gulu barracks.
Kitara’s claim was supported by forensic evidence from a British expert. The Government hired Scotland Yard of the UK to help with investigations. Ernest Kenneth Creer, a forensics expert who analysed the photo, testified that the shaver’s nose was wider than Kisale’s. The man was also more muscular. He further said Candida was darker and had wider hips than the woman in the photograph.
But Candida’s allegations did not come out of the blue. The garrison chief, Captain Charles Opio, testified that Candida had indeed been shaved once but not on her pubis. Opio said her head was shaved one morning at 10:00am as a ‘disciplinary action.’ Candida had been brought to Opio for allegedly fighting Kisale’s wife.
Opio said the punishment was witnessed by over 50 people and it was a usual practice to shave heads of women who disrupt peace in the barracks. The shaving, he added, was not done by Kisale.
CANDIDA’s TESTIMONY
Meanwhile, Candida testified that on the fateful day, she had gone to fetch water but upon returning, she found another woman in the house where she had been cohabiting with Kisale.
The woman told Candida she was a soldier from Kasese. When Kisale returned, he told Candida to pack her bags and leave.
Candida said when she resisted the eviction, soldiers bundled her up, shaved her head and then took her to another place, where they undressed her and shaved her pubis.
The second witness was Ketty Akullo, Candida’s friend, who worked in Kampala at the time. When Candida visited Akullo at her office in Bugolobi, she said her head had been shaved, but did not mention pubic hair.
Akullo said she heard about the shaving of the pubic hair when she went to Gulu. On returning to Kampala, she asked Candida why she hadn’t told her about it and she said she was embarrassed.
The Monitor newspaper staff also testified in Candida’s favour. Charles Onyango Obbo, then Managing editor, said he got to know about the shaving from the then editor-in-chief, Wafula Ogutu, to whom Candida had reported the matter. Ogutu said he believed her story after she produced the photos.
Another witness, Collins Bangira, who lived in Gulu Barracks, said he witnessed the shaving. He said he saw Candida being tortured by over 50 men and saw her dress being pulled off and her pubis being shaved.
Another witness from Gulu, Michael Kidega, said he witnessed the shaving and informed the LC1 chairman, who advised him to report the matter to a human rights body. Unfortunately, he could not find any human rights personnel. He then decided report the matter to the Police, but on reaching Gulu Police Station, he found that Kisale had reported an assault case against Candida.
RULING
The State Attorney, Charles Ogwal, argued that Candida had made a false allegation and asked the court to convict her for tarnishing the image of the UPDF. Ogwal asked the court to impose a stringent sentence on Candida, saying the case questioned the credibility of the UPDF.
The magistrate, Andrew Bashaija, did not have a difficult decision to make. He did not have to rule on whether Candida was shaved or not. The ruling was on whether the woman in the picture was Candida and the shaver was Kisale. His work had been made easy by the British forensics expert, who outlined credible differences between Kisale and the shaver in the photo. He also outlined differences between Candida and the woman in the photo.
None of the defence witnesses had provided any concrete proof that the woman in the picture was Candida and that the man was Kisale.
The judge ruled: “The State needed to prove that the man in the photo was not Kisale and the woman was not Candida, and I think it has done it. The information is false, prosecution witnesses themselves confessed they did not believe the picture was of Candida and the witnesses gave different versions of the same incident.â€
Candida’s lawyer, Jacob Oulanyah, asked court for leniency, saying his client had spent over five months in detention and that court should take into account her concern about how women are treated in the barracks.The magistrate, however, overruled Oulanyah.
Candida served her prison sentence and was released. Months after her release, she died.
ON May 11, 1999, The Monitor newspaper published a photo of soldiers forcefully shaving off the pubic hair of a nude woman. Thereafter, a 24-year-old woman, Candida Lakony, came forward, claiming to be the woman in the picture.
She said the shaving which took place in Gulu barracks, was masterminded by her ex-boyfriend, Warrant Officer II Nelson Kisale, of the UPDF 4th Division in Gulu.
The publication attracted outrage from womens rights activists and the public. President Yoweri Museveni reacted angrily, invited her to State House and promised to investigate and severely punish the errant soldiers.
Candida was later arrested and charged with giving false information to the Police. Monitor editors Wafula Ogutu, Charles Onyango-Obbo and David Ouma Balikowa, were also charged with publishing false news.
PROSECUTION
Prosecution produced witnesses including Lt. Charles Kitara, a soldier attached to Gulu Barracks, who testified that he was Candida’s neighbour in Gulu town. He said he knew Kisale and testified that Kisale and Candida were not in the picture. Kitara added that the site in the picture was not Gulu barracks.
Kitara’s claim was supported by forensic evidence from a British expert. The Government hired Scotland Yard of the UK to help with investigations. Ernest Kenneth Creer, a forensics expert who analysed the photo, testified that the shaver’s nose was wider than Kisale’s. The man was also more muscular. He further said Candida was darker and had wider hips than the woman in the photograph.
But Candida’s allegations did not come out of the blue. The garrison chief, Captain Charles Opio, testified that Candida had indeed been shaved once but not on her pubis. Opio said her head was shaved one morning at 10:00am as a ‘disciplinary action.’ Candida had been brought to Opio for allegedly fighting Kisale’s wife.
Opio said the punishment was witnessed by over 50 people and it was a usual practice to shave heads of women who disrupt peace in the barracks. The shaving, he added, was not done by Kisale.
CANDIDA’s TESTIMONY
Meanwhile, Candida testified that on the fateful day, she had gone to fetch water but upon returning, she found another woman in the house where she had been cohabiting with Kisale.
The woman told Candida she was a soldier from Kasese. When Kisale returned, he told Candida to pack her bags and leave.
Candida said when she resisted the eviction, soldiers bundled her up, shaved her head and then took her to another place, where they undressed her and shaved her pubis.
The second witness was Ketty Akullo, Candida’s friend, who worked in Kampala at the time. When Candida visited Akullo at her office in Bugolobi, she said her head had been shaved, but did not mention pubic hair.
Akullo said she heard about the shaving of the pubic hair when she went to Gulu. On returning to Kampala, she asked Candida why she hadn’t told her about it and she said she was embarrassed.
The Monitor newspaper staff also testified in Candida’s favour. Charles Onyango Obbo, then Managing editor, said he got to know about the shaving from the then editor-in-chief, Wafula Ogutu, to whom Candida had reported the matter. Ogutu said he believed her story after she produced the photos.
Another witness, Collins Bangira, who lived in Gulu Barracks, said he witnessed the shaving. He said he saw Candida being tortured by over 50 men and saw her dress being pulled off and her pubis being shaved.
Another witness from Gulu, Michael Kidega, said he witnessed the shaving and informed the LC1 chairman, who advised him to report the matter to a human rights body. Unfortunately, he could not find any human rights personnel. He then decided report the matter to the Police, but on reaching Gulu Police Station, he found that Kisale had reported an assault case against Candida.
RULING
The State Attorney, Charles Ogwal, argued that Candida had made a false allegation and asked the court to convict her for tarnishing the image of the UPDF. Ogwal asked the court to impose a stringent sentence on Candida, saying the case questioned the credibility of the UPDF.
The magistrate, Andrew Bashaija, did not have a difficult decision to make. He did not have to rule on whether Candida was shaved or not. The ruling was on whether the woman in the picture was Candida and the shaver was Kisale. His work had been made easy by the British forensics expert, who outlined credible differences between Kisale and the shaver in the photo. He also outlined differences between Candida and the woman in the photo.
None of the defence witnesses had provided any concrete proof that the woman in the picture was Candida and that the man was Kisale.
The judge ruled: “The State needed to prove that the man in the photo was not Kisale and the woman was not Candida, and I think it has done it. The information is false, prosecution witnesses themselves confessed they did not believe the picture was of Candida and the witnesses gave different versions of the same incident.â€
Candida’s lawyer, Jacob Oulanyah, asked court for leniency, saying his client had spent over five months in detention and that court should take into account her concern about how women are treated in the barracks.The magistrate, however, overruled Oulanyah.
Candida served her prison sentence and was released. Months after her release, she died.