Who burnt Nabukeera?
Apr 23, 2007
WHEN Safina Ndagire, Aisha Nabukeera’s step-mother, allegedly unleashed her wrath on her step-daughter, the act was not only bitter, but also cruel.
By Joshua Kato
WHEN Safina Ndagire, Aisha Nabukeera’s step-mother, allegedly unleashed her wrath on her step-daughter, the act was not only bitter, but also cruel.
The 13-year old victim’s entire body was burnt; save for her face Nabukeera is now a shadow of her old beautiful flame. She is in pain, her body scarred and limbs almost useless.
According to Nabukeera’s friends and teachers at Nyendo Public School near Masaka town, where she was studying in Primary Seven, she is very intelligent, jolly and always smiling. Before the fiery incident, Nabukeera, daughter of Ahmed Matovu and Sophia Nakandi, lived a happy life. But as Nabukeera narrated her story, she was in tears, her smile gone with the flames. “She has been crying for last six months,†her mother says.
Matovu, who has several women in his life, married Nakandi and had five children with her many years ago. They lived in Nyendo, but according to Matovu, they had a disagreement and when she left the home, he got another woman, who has been looking after Nabukeera and her siblings.
Matovu got a third woman Ndagire, and set up a home for her in Kyabakuza, a suburb in Masaka town. During school holidays, children from Matovu’s two homes visited each other. Last December holidays, Nabukeera visited her second stepmother, Ndagire.
The burning
It was on February 6th, 2006 when Nabukeera was burn. “She sent me to buy paraffin for shs200 from as shop. When I brought it, she told me to change dresses before I light the candle,†Nabukeera says.
However, when the girl realised that the dress she had been given to change into smelt fuel, she smelt a rat. “But mother told me to put it on very fast and light the candleâ€, she explains.
According to Nabukeera, her step mother ordered her children out of the house, before she also went out.
She says Ndagire gave her a nylon body- covering tunic, known as Hijab that Muslim women wear when going for prayers.
Nabukeera says she was told to light the tadooba (a locally-made lantern).
“The moment I struck thee match box, my dress caught fire,’ she adds. The fire spread fast and fiercely over her body.
“I ran out of the house and tried to dive into a well behind the house. But before I could dive, a man who I did not know, got water and poured it on me and fire was put out,†she says.
But she had already been burnt beyond recognition. Her body, from neck to the legs, was burnt.
Ndagire denies being involved in the incident. According to her Police statement, she says, “Nabukeera changed the dress at her will.â€
Nabukeera was rushed to Hope Clinic in Masaka for treatment and later to Masaka Hospital. Her father paid only a half of the hospital bill.
Nabukeera was extensively burnt. The doctor says Nabukeera told him that she has been burnt by a tadoob. The Doctor says if Nabukeera were operated on, she could regain some of her skin. But this is only possible if it is a major operation. “I got in touch with some doctors who have agreed to carry out the operation,†he says.
After Matovu’s alleged refusal to clear the bill, Nabukeera’s mother filed a case with the Police’s Family and Children Protection Unit.
The case was not even related to grievous bodily harm, but child neglect. However, the judge called the police and asked them to investigate the case.
Police intervenes
The police learnt about the incident in July, five months after it had occurred. The Family and Children Protection Unit passed on the case to the CID for further investigations.
The police wonder why the case was not reported to them initially. However, according to Nakandi, Nabukeera’s mother, the case was not first reported to Police because Matovu had vowed to meet the treatment expenses.
“We wanted to give him the benefit of doubt, but he failed,†Nakandi says. She adds that at the time, Nabukeera was in a bad condition, that there was not time to report the case. In her fist statement, Nabukeera said a candle burnt her.
Ndagire, the girl’s step-mother, however, told the Police that a charcoal stove burnt Nabukeera. Matovu made the same statement, yet he was not at home at the time of the incident. In her second statement, Nabukeera gave more details. She talked about the dress that Ndagire allegedly gave her.
Matovu and Ndagire also updated their statements and have agreed she might have bought petrol instead of paraffin. When the Police visited the shop where Nabukeera bought the paraffin, they confirmed she bought paraffin.
“Her mother has coached her to say she was burnt intentionally,†Matovu says. “That girl was burnt by a lantern. There was no ill-play at all,†he adds. One wonders if it was an ordinary explosion because it is the area that was covered by the dress that got burnt. In fact, the scars look like a dress. On July 25th, the Police locked up Ndagire but when she made her second statement, she was released on Police bond.
When New Vision asked a CID why a key suspect with the ability to interfere with investigations was released, he said the Police was still investigating the matter. This is when accusations of bribery set in.
However, according to the Police spokesman, Edward Ochom, Ndagire was released on bond after doubts rose because o the changing statements. “She was released on the advice of the Resident Attorney,†Ochom adds.
Witnesses
The Police has several witnesses including Jamil Binaisa and Isa Iga, both neighbours of Ndagire. “I saw her coming from the shop with paraffin in a container,†Binaisa’s Police statement sates. “I saw her entering the house and about 10 minutes later, she ran out, her clothes on fire.â€
Binaisa adds that it is unlikely Nabukeera was burnt intentionally because 10 minutes could not have been enough for Nabukeera to change her dress.
According to the Police, the best witness would be Nabukeera and Ndagire. As far as their statements are concerned, Nabukeera has been more consistent. The Police has sent the file to the DPP for further investigation. According to Asuman Mugyenyi, the Police commander mid-western Uganda, the case has been exaggerated.
He says the investigations have shown that there was no change of dresses. “The candle exploded by accident Mugenyi adds.
Normally the Police depend on evidence gathered immediately after an incident for investigations. However, because this case was reported five months later, key exhibits have long been lost.
“If there is anyone out there who has concreted any information about this incident, please bring it to us, Ochom says.
Many questions still arise because the Police did not examine the container in which Nabukeera bout the fuel and the burnt dress. This would have helped them establish whether it was paraffin or petrol. However, the dress has since gone missing.
Nabukeera now lives with Masaka-Kampala tycoon Frank Gashumba.
According to Gashumba, she will be flown to the Netherlands soon for an operation.
WHEN Safina Ndagire, Aisha Nabukeera’s step-mother, allegedly unleashed her wrath on her step-daughter, the act was not only bitter, but also cruel.
The 13-year old victim’s entire body was burnt; save for her face Nabukeera is now a shadow of her old beautiful flame. She is in pain, her body scarred and limbs almost useless.
According to Nabukeera’s friends and teachers at Nyendo Public School near Masaka town, where she was studying in Primary Seven, she is very intelligent, jolly and always smiling. Before the fiery incident, Nabukeera, daughter of Ahmed Matovu and Sophia Nakandi, lived a happy life. But as Nabukeera narrated her story, she was in tears, her smile gone with the flames. “She has been crying for last six months,†her mother says.
Matovu, who has several women in his life, married Nakandi and had five children with her many years ago. They lived in Nyendo, but according to Matovu, they had a disagreement and when she left the home, he got another woman, who has been looking after Nabukeera and her siblings.
Matovu got a third woman Ndagire, and set up a home for her in Kyabakuza, a suburb in Masaka town. During school holidays, children from Matovu’s two homes visited each other. Last December holidays, Nabukeera visited her second stepmother, Ndagire.
The burning
It was on February 6th, 2006 when Nabukeera was burn. “She sent me to buy paraffin for shs200 from as shop. When I brought it, she told me to change dresses before I light the candle,†Nabukeera says.
However, when the girl realised that the dress she had been given to change into smelt fuel, she smelt a rat. “But mother told me to put it on very fast and light the candleâ€, she explains.
According to Nabukeera, her step mother ordered her children out of the house, before she also went out.
She says Ndagire gave her a nylon body- covering tunic, known as Hijab that Muslim women wear when going for prayers.
Nabukeera says she was told to light the tadooba (a locally-made lantern).
“The moment I struck thee match box, my dress caught fire,’ she adds. The fire spread fast and fiercely over her body.
“I ran out of the house and tried to dive into a well behind the house. But before I could dive, a man who I did not know, got water and poured it on me and fire was put out,†she says.
But she had already been burnt beyond recognition. Her body, from neck to the legs, was burnt.
Ndagire denies being involved in the incident. According to her Police statement, she says, “Nabukeera changed the dress at her will.â€
Nabukeera was rushed to Hope Clinic in Masaka for treatment and later to Masaka Hospital. Her father paid only a half of the hospital bill.
Nabukeera was extensively burnt. The doctor says Nabukeera told him that she has been burnt by a tadoob. The Doctor says if Nabukeera were operated on, she could regain some of her skin. But this is only possible if it is a major operation. “I got in touch with some doctors who have agreed to carry out the operation,†he says.
After Matovu’s alleged refusal to clear the bill, Nabukeera’s mother filed a case with the Police’s Family and Children Protection Unit.
The case was not even related to grievous bodily harm, but child neglect. However, the judge called the police and asked them to investigate the case.
Police intervenes
The police learnt about the incident in July, five months after it had occurred. The Family and Children Protection Unit passed on the case to the CID for further investigations.
The police wonder why the case was not reported to them initially. However, according to Nakandi, Nabukeera’s mother, the case was not first reported to Police because Matovu had vowed to meet the treatment expenses.
“We wanted to give him the benefit of doubt, but he failed,†Nakandi says. She adds that at the time, Nabukeera was in a bad condition, that there was not time to report the case. In her fist statement, Nabukeera said a candle burnt her.
Ndagire, the girl’s step-mother, however, told the Police that a charcoal stove burnt Nabukeera. Matovu made the same statement, yet he was not at home at the time of the incident. In her second statement, Nabukeera gave more details. She talked about the dress that Ndagire allegedly gave her.
Matovu and Ndagire also updated their statements and have agreed she might have bought petrol instead of paraffin. When the Police visited the shop where Nabukeera bought the paraffin, they confirmed she bought paraffin.
“Her mother has coached her to say she was burnt intentionally,†Matovu says. “That girl was burnt by a lantern. There was no ill-play at all,†he adds. One wonders if it was an ordinary explosion because it is the area that was covered by the dress that got burnt. In fact, the scars look like a dress. On July 25th, the Police locked up Ndagire but when she made her second statement, she was released on Police bond.
When New Vision asked a CID why a key suspect with the ability to interfere with investigations was released, he said the Police was still investigating the matter. This is when accusations of bribery set in.
However, according to the Police spokesman, Edward Ochom, Ndagire was released on bond after doubts rose because o the changing statements. “She was released on the advice of the Resident Attorney,†Ochom adds.
Witnesses
The Police has several witnesses including Jamil Binaisa and Isa Iga, both neighbours of Ndagire. “I saw her coming from the shop with paraffin in a container,†Binaisa’s Police statement sates. “I saw her entering the house and about 10 minutes later, she ran out, her clothes on fire.â€
Binaisa adds that it is unlikely Nabukeera was burnt intentionally because 10 minutes could not have been enough for Nabukeera to change her dress.
According to the Police, the best witness would be Nabukeera and Ndagire. As far as their statements are concerned, Nabukeera has been more consistent. The Police has sent the file to the DPP for further investigation. According to Asuman Mugyenyi, the Police commander mid-western Uganda, the case has been exaggerated.
He says the investigations have shown that there was no change of dresses. “The candle exploded by accident Mugenyi adds.
Normally the Police depend on evidence gathered immediately after an incident for investigations. However, because this case was reported five months later, key exhibits have long been lost.
“If there is anyone out there who has concreted any information about this incident, please bring it to us, Ochom says.
Many questions still arise because the Police did not examine the container in which Nabukeera bout the fuel and the burnt dress. This would have helped them establish whether it was paraffin or petrol. However, the dress has since gone missing.
Nabukeera now lives with Masaka-Kampala tycoon Frank Gashumba.
According to Gashumba, she will be flown to the Netherlands soon for an operation.