I was raped in police cells-Kamukama

A 55year old woman in Mbarara has no kind words for law enforcement authorities in Mbarara District, who she accused of ignoring her sexual assault case.

Night Kamukama, a resident of Rubindi Trading Centre in Kashari, says she was raped by one Thomas Kateho Bahebwa, the C 3 chairperson of Rubindi Sub County on 13 April, 2018.

She says ever since, local police has refused to take up her, to enable drag the offender to court.

The mother of four says Rubindi police, four months down the road, have declined to send her file to the DPP’s office.

Kamukama says on the fateful night, at around 10:30pm while she was tending to her shop, a group people including police officers barged in, grabbed and started beating her up.

Later she says she was arrested and told she was being accused of selling marijuana and cocaine in the area.

Her clothes she says were torn and that she was taken and locked up in a police cell.

During the night, Chairman Kateho appeared, opened the cell and raped her.

She also claims in the process, the attackers took away up to Shs 680,000 from the shop.

She named some of the people she recognized among the assailants as Timothy Mbahebwa Kateho, former OC station Rubindi police post ASP Robert Nabeta and PC Kizza Alex.

She filed cases of rape, criminal trespass, and theft against the group, under case number SDR 07/16/4/2018, SD 21/13/04/2018 and CRB 2241/18.

The cases, however, have stalled ever since.

Kamukama says she was taken to Mbarara referral hospital and Dr. Abifekanise confirmed she was raped.

She also claims that the sub county chairman has severally sought intimate relations with her ever since her husband passed, but she turned them down.

Mbarara RDC Maj. Martha Asiimwe intervened in the matter after the public outcry, and promised to follow it through.

“In Uganda no one is above the law; if some of our police officers were involved in these bad acts they will be arrested, produced in court and charged individually” said the RDC.

When we tried to reach out to the rape suspect, Chairman Kateho, — who sounded drunk on the phone — threatened to harm any journalist that dared step foot at his home.