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The victim sees rapist Pte Apollo Bakahebwa’s face in the morning. ILLUSTRATIONS BY Cosmas Arinaitwe
At about 8pm July 7, 1998, a 70-year-old woman (name withheld) locked her door and went straight to her bedroom.
At midnight, a bang on the door woke her up. Before she could recover from the shock, the attacker was already on her bed. She could not identify him because it was dark. In seconds, the stranger was pressing her hard on the bed.
It was clear he had ill motives. She couldn’t fight the attacker. Her worn out muscles couldn’t match his strength. Her only hope to escape the onslaught was help from the neighbours. She raised an alarm. Unfortunately, her house was far away from neighbours. No one heard her cries. Her attacker didn’t stop.
The rape
The male attacker wanted to forcefully have sexual intercourse with her. Because of her advanced aged, she was defenceless. The man raped her. She later told investigators that she had no option, but to allow the man do what he wanted for fear that if she continued to resist, he would harm her.
The elderly woman said the male attacker took her giving in for approval and relaxed the manner in which he was abusing her.
“I told him that it would be risky to leave the door open at night. I told him to let me go fasten the door lock and then come back. He accepted,” the elderly woman told investigators later.
The elderly woman left to close the door as the attacker remained in her bed. When she reached the door, she just jumped out of the house and fled. The attacker swiftly pursued her before she could even leave the yard and caught up with her.
The elderly woman claimed she wasn’t running away, but wanted to go for a short call.
Playing along
They went back to the house and he again forced her into sex. She again pretended to be okay with the “relationship” making him open up about his profession. He told the elderly woman he was a soldier, who had been transferred to Kirawula army detach in Madudu Sub-county in Mubende District.
With promise of a relationship, the man decided to leave the elderly’s woman home at 7am.
He even asked the elderly woman to direct him to where the barracks was. She obliged.
As soon as they parted, the elderly woman ran to her neighbours, Moses Kisenyi and Rosemary Nakyambadde, to whom she narrated the unfortunate incident that happened to her at night.
The neighbours were annoyed and wanted him arrested. The elderly woman described to them what the man looked like. She also told them the man was walking towards the army detach. Kisenyi then picked a bicycle and pursued the attacker.
On the way, Kisenyi later told investigators, he found a man who fit the description given by the elderly woman.
“Before I rode closer to the man, he signalled me to stop. I stopped and he asked me for the direction to the army detach. I agreed to walk with him to the place,” Kisenyi said.
The duo went on chatting about several topics. Kisenyi told investigators that the man informed him that he was a soldier and he had spent the night in their village.
Several metres to the army detach, they were joined by another soldier, who was known to Kisenyi as Kasozi. When they were about to reach the entrance of the army detach, the stranger wanted to use a shortcut to his house.
He said he didn’t want to go through the main entrance on security grounds.
Kisenyi took advantage of that moment to inform Kasozi that the man with them was being accused of raping an elderly woman.
Rapist arrested
Kasozi acted fast. He arrested the man and handed him over to Private (Pte) Gabriel Opolot, an officer who was at the army detach quarter guard. The man was identified as Pte Apollo Bakahebwa.
Pte Opolot discovered that Pte Bakahebwa had been posted to the detach three days before the rape incident.
Pte Bakahebwa denied having raped the old woman. At another point, he claimed that there was consent and it is the reason why he spent a night at her house. Given the complexity of the case, army officers handed the case over to police.
Pte Bakahebwa was detained as the elderly woman was transferred to hospital for medical examination.
She later recorded a statement where she confirmed that she had been raped by Bakahebwa.
“When he entered my house, he overpowered me and I couldn’t fight him. I raised an alarm several times to be helped. No one turned up. He did what he wanted because I had no option,” the elderly woman told detectives.
When her medical results from the hospital were brought, they confirmed that the woman had been raped.
During the trial in the High Court in Mubende District before Judge Paul Mugamba, Pte Bakahebwa pleaded not guilty to the rape charges.
The elderly woman was brought in court and identified Pte Bakahebwa as the man who raped her. Although she conceded that the initial incidents happened when it was dark, she told court that she was able to see the attacker’s face in the morning when she accompanied him to the road. She said during her chat with Pte Bakahebwa, he told her that he was an army officer, who had been posted at the nearby detach from Gulu District.
She added that she alerted neighbours as soon as Pte Bakahebwa had left. Both Kisenyi and Nakyambadde confirmed that the old lady had gone to them for help.
Pte Opolot too narrated how Kisenyi and another soldier informed him about Pte Bakahebwa’s crimes and he arrested him.
Dr Charles Kizza, the medical officer, who examined the elderly woman, told court the result showed that she had been raped a few hours before she was brought to the hospital.
In his defence, Pte Bakahebwa denied knowing or having ever met the elderly woman in his life or being at the scene on the fateful day.
Pte Bakahebwa said the case was a tramped-up charge by his colleague Pte Opolot whom he claimed to have lent Shs50,000, which he failed to pay back.
He went on to accuse Kisenyi and Pte Opolot using the case to extort money from him.
“They want to get Shs2m from me to abandon the case. I know they intend to invest that money in their business,” Pte Bakahebwa said.
In his judgement, Judge Mugamba said, “It is noteworthy that in his defence, the accused also mentioned that he had given a loan to Kisenyi a month earlier. According to the evidence by Pte Opolot and the fact that Kisenyi had found the accused looking for the way to the barracks, the accused had recently arrived in the locality.
The fact that the accused seemed not to know where he wanted to go the morning he was arrested, also lends credibility to the fact that he was the man who went to the house of PW1 [elderly woman]”.
“I am satisfied that prosecution has proved the identity of the accused and put him at the scene. The evidence of PW1 who I found a truthful witness has been buttressed by circumstantial evidence.
“The gentlemen assessors have given me their opinion and in their joint opinion they advise me to convict the accused. The accused is convicted of the offence of rape accordingly,” he said.
Judge Mugamba sentenced the convict to six years in prison.
Rape in the city and surrounding areas
Records from the Kampala Central Police Station (CPS) indicate more than 190 young girls had been defiled and 37 women raped in Kampala and the districts of Mukono and Wakiso between January and July last year. Some of the victims in these cases were murdered.
The statistic came at the time when rape and murder cases were on the rise in Kampala Metropolitan Area. In May last year, police recovered the body of Beatrice Mudondo, a student at Makerere University Business School at a road side in Bugolobi, a Kampala suburb. She was suspected to have been raped and murdered.
Mudondo’s incident came barely a fortnight after police had recovered the body of a 14-year-old Rehema Nassali dumped on Yusuf Lule Road. She was a pupil at Buganda Road Primary school and was suspected to have been raped before she was murdered by unknown assailants.
At midnight, a bang on the door woke her up. Before she could recover from the shock, the attacker was already on her bed. She could not identify him because it was dark. In seconds, the stranger was pressing her hard on the bed.
It was clear he had ill motives. She couldn’t fight the attacker. Her worn out muscles couldn’t match his strength. Her only hope to escape the onslaught was help from the neighbours. She raised an alarm. Unfortunately, her house was far away from neighbours. No one heard her cries. Her attacker didn’t stop.
The rape
The male attacker wanted to forcefully have sexual intercourse with her. Because of her advanced aged, she was defenceless. The man raped her. She later told investigators that she had no option, but to allow the man do what he wanted for fear that if she continued to resist, he would harm her.
The elderly woman said the male attacker took her giving in for approval and relaxed the manner in which he was abusing her.
“I told him that it would be risky to leave the door open at night. I told him to let me go fasten the door lock and then come back. He accepted,” the elderly woman told investigators later.
The elderly woman left to close the door as the attacker remained in her bed. When she reached the door, she just jumped out of the house and fled. The attacker swiftly pursued her before she could even leave the yard and caught up with her.
The elderly woman claimed she wasn’t running away, but wanted to go for a short call.
Playing along
They went back to the house and he again forced her into sex. She again pretended to be okay with the “relationship” making him open up about his profession. He told the elderly woman he was a soldier, who had been transferred to Kirawula army detach in Madudu Sub-county in Mubende District.
With promise of a relationship, the man decided to leave the elderly’s woman home at 7am.
He even asked the elderly woman to direct him to where the barracks was. She obliged.
As soon as they parted, the elderly woman ran to her neighbours, Moses Kisenyi and Rosemary Nakyambadde, to whom she narrated the unfortunate incident that happened to her at night.
The neighbours were annoyed and wanted him arrested. The elderly woman described to them what the man looked like. She also told them the man was walking towards the army detach. Kisenyi then picked a bicycle and pursued the attacker.
On the way, Kisenyi later told investigators, he found a man who fit the description given by the elderly woman.
“Before I rode closer to the man, he signalled me to stop. I stopped and he asked me for the direction to the army detach. I agreed to walk with him to the place,” Kisenyi said.
The duo went on chatting about several topics. Kisenyi told investigators that the man informed him that he was a soldier and he had spent the night in their village.
Several metres to the army detach, they were joined by another soldier, who was known to Kisenyi as Kasozi. When they were about to reach the entrance of the army detach, the stranger wanted to use a shortcut to his house.
He said he didn’t want to go through the main entrance on security grounds.
Kisenyi took advantage of that moment to inform Kasozi that the man with them was being accused of raping an elderly woman.
Rapist arrested
The victim’s neighbour Moses Kisenyi and army officers arrest rapist Bakahebwa
Kasozi acted fast. He arrested the man and handed him over to Private (Pte) Gabriel Opolot, an officer who was at the army detach quarter guard. The man was identified as Pte Apollo Bakahebwa.
Pte Opolot discovered that Pte Bakahebwa had been posted to the detach three days before the rape incident.
Pte Bakahebwa denied having raped the old woman. At another point, he claimed that there was consent and it is the reason why he spent a night at her house. Given the complexity of the case, army officers handed the case over to police.
Pte Bakahebwa was detained as the elderly woman was transferred to hospital for medical examination.
She later recorded a statement where she confirmed that she had been raped by Bakahebwa.
“When he entered my house, he overpowered me and I couldn’t fight him. I raised an alarm several times to be helped. No one turned up. He did what he wanted because I had no option,” the elderly woman told detectives.
When her medical results from the hospital were brought, they confirmed that the woman had been raped.
The victim rushes to her neigbours after Bakahebwa had left the scene.
During the trial in the High Court in Mubende District before Judge Paul Mugamba, Pte Bakahebwa pleaded not guilty to the rape charges.
The elderly woman was brought in court and identified Pte Bakahebwa as the man who raped her. Although she conceded that the initial incidents happened when it was dark, she told court that she was able to see the attacker’s face in the morning when she accompanied him to the road. She said during her chat with Pte Bakahebwa, he told her that he was an army officer, who had been posted at the nearby detach from Gulu District.
She added that she alerted neighbours as soon as Pte Bakahebwa had left. Both Kisenyi and Nakyambadde confirmed that the old lady had gone to them for help.
Pte Opolot too narrated how Kisenyi and another soldier informed him about Pte Bakahebwa’s crimes and he arrested him.
Dr Charles Kizza, the medical officer, who examined the elderly woman, told court the result showed that she had been raped a few hours before she was brought to the hospital.
In his defence, Pte Bakahebwa denied knowing or having ever met the elderly woman in his life or being at the scene on the fateful day.
Pte Bakahebwa said the case was a tramped-up charge by his colleague Pte Opolot whom he claimed to have lent Shs50,000, which he failed to pay back.
He went on to accuse Kisenyi and Pte Opolot using the case to extort money from him.
“They want to get Shs2m from me to abandon the case. I know they intend to invest that money in their business,” Pte Bakahebwa said.
In his judgement, Judge Mugamba said, “It is noteworthy that in his defence, the accused also mentioned that he had given a loan to Kisenyi a month earlier. According to the evidence by Pte Opolot and the fact that Kisenyi had found the accused looking for the way to the barracks, the accused had recently arrived in the locality.
The fact that the accused seemed not to know where he wanted to go the morning he was arrested, also lends credibility to the fact that he was the man who went to the house of PW1 [elderly woman]”.
“I am satisfied that prosecution has proved the identity of the accused and put him at the scene. The evidence of PW1 who I found a truthful witness has been buttressed by circumstantial evidence.
“The gentlemen assessors have given me their opinion and in their joint opinion they advise me to convict the accused. The accused is convicted of the offence of rape accordingly,” he said.
Judge Mugamba sentenced the convict to six years in prison.
Rape in the city and surrounding areas
Records from the Kampala Central Police Station (CPS) indicate more than 190 young girls had been defiled and 37 women raped in Kampala and the districts of Mukono and Wakiso between January and July last year. Some of the victims in these cases were murdered.
The statistic came at the time when rape and murder cases were on the rise in Kampala Metropolitan Area. In May last year, police recovered the body of Beatrice Mudondo, a student at Makerere University Business School at a road side in Bugolobi, a Kampala suburb. She was suspected to have been raped and murdered.
Mudondo’s incident came barely a fortnight after police had recovered the body of a 14-year-old Rehema Nassali dumped on Yusuf Lule Road. She was a pupil at Buganda Road Primary school and was suspected to have been raped before she was murdered by unknown assailants.
SOURCE: MONITOR
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