70-year-old suspected defiler escapes mob in Kyotera

CRIME

KYOTERA - A 70-year-old man in Kyotera district, alleged to have defiled the daughter of his neighbour, has escaped lynching by a mob when Police arrived just in time to rescue him.

He was immediately arrested.

An irate group of residents wielding clubs, machetes and bricks were determined to finish off suspect Ponsiano Ssizokira of Bukalasa village in Kasaali Town Council.

They claimed he is a serial defiler, with his neighbour's seven-year-old daughter reportedly his third victim in a space of four months.

The mob, baying for blood, stormed Ssizokira's house, where they believed he had committed the act. But the area LC1 chairperson, Joseph Mwanje, had called Police to intervene.

Mwanje said he had received similar complaints about the suspect, but that he had lacked clear evidence to pin him.

Rosette Sikahwa, the acting Kyotera district Police commander (DPC), confirmed the latest development, and said Ssizokira has been charged with aggravated defilement and is to be arraigned in court when his file is ready.

A debt to pay

The young victim apparently told Police what had happened.

According to DPC Sikahwa, she told Police she had been sent to Ssizokira's home to demand sh5000 he owed her mother.

But once there, the suspect reportedly grabbed her and threatened to behead her in case she made any alarm.

After the alleged heinous act, Ssisokira is said to have warned the helpess girl not to say a word about the incident to anyone.

But her mother would soon know - after discovering the girl bleeding, and probing what had happened.
 
Once the case was reported, the victim was taken for a medical checkup and test results confirmed she had been defiled.

Suspect Ssizokira, awaiting to appear before court, faces time behind bars. He denied the allegations and declined to divulge any further information.

Local police strongly condemned abuse of any form against children, as well as mob justice.

Susan Nakawojwa, the district probation officer, said defiled children are prone to catching HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, plus unusual complications that may lead to death.
 
Most of the victims, she added, are defiled by people who engage closely with them, including family members, neighbours and teachers.
 
According to the 2016 Kyotera probation report, 306 girls were defiled, of which 23 cases were aggravated.