Officers at Kira Police Station have been keeping a suspected rapist for over a week now without the Knowledge of their superiors at Uganda Police headquarters in Naguru Kampala.
The rape suspect Lawrence Lubowa, who was arrested on Monday last week, is a resident of Ntinda who operates Giraffe Park Hotel on Ntinda-Kisaasi road, a few kilometers from Baba TV officers, where he is alleged to have raped the victim [names withheld].
According to our sources at Kira Police Station, Lubowa, a former lecturer who had a stint in the USA before he was deported back to Uganda, is said to have raped the victim after giving her a job of a waitress in his motel which provides accommodation and bar services.
Our sources at the police station say the allegations against Lubowa were investigated and found to be true whereby apart from raping the innocent girls, he is also alleged to have infected her with a dangerous disease that has no cure, with the frugs available only being able to prolong the victim’s life on planet earth.
It is said that police at Kira Police Station having confirmed the allegations to be true, decided to ask both sides to settle the matter at the police station in Shs30 million deal, where police officers are expected to get a share should the suspect find the money.
It is said the police officers at Kira Police Station told the rape victim and her family that she would get nothing if the suspect is arraigned before courts of law, the case being a capital offence that could mean a life sentence for the suspected rapist.
“It has been found to be true that this gentleman (Lubowa) raped the poor girl yet our bosses want to make money out of the case. They are denying the young girl justice,” one of our sources told us yesterday in Kampala, adding that the suspected rapist has many related cases in Kigowa and Ntinda police posts but that officers at the police small stations have been covering them in exchange for money.
According to our sources at Kira Police Post, a suspect brought on a capital offence is not supposed to stay at the station beyond 48 hours but Mr. Lubowa whose family is looking for money to give to the police keep off the case has stayed there for 8 days now.
This website contacted the area LC leaders who confirmed that they have cases of Lubowa abusing his female employees- such as wanting to forcefully have sex with them, denying them food and, even not paying them their wages.
“We have reported many cases of this man to Ntinda and Kigowa police station but he always gets his way out. We don’t know how he does it but I think he bribes the police,” one the village leaders said, adding a few months ago he took away his worker’s smartphone for good after she refused to give him sex. The girl, they say, went home without her phone on top of not paying her all the money she had worked for.
One of the village leaders also confirmed that Lubowa who is about 60 years is fond of sexually abusing his workers. “He uses and fires them [the girls]. That is why he cannot keep them for a month. Many run away because of his bad behaviour of wanting to sleep with them and yet he does not want to pay them for the work hired them for,” he said.
The boda boda riders who operate near Lubowa’s Giraffe Park Motel also confirmed that he has a habit of sexually abusing the girls he hires as waitresses. “One of the girls last year abused him (Lubowa) after he tried to forcefully have sex with her. Many people witnessed that incident in the morning. We were here at our work station. He (Lubowa) is a bad man,” a boda boda rider said.
However, our police sources at Kira Police Station that their bosses and others at different police stations in Kampala have a habit of making money out of rape suspects, in the process killing the case, and denying the victims justice.
In June 2019, Lubowa was arrested by police detectives from Busikirwa Police Post in Kisaasa after his employee identified as Sarah Sanya accused him of raping her. Case file number SD REF 05/06/2019 was opened.
It would later emerge that Lubowa accepted raping Sanya and asked for forgiveness but police there told the two sides to negotiate a financial settlement. It is said the girl’s family wanted Shs1,000, 000 while Lubowa could only manage to raise Shs700, 000, which was rejected.
It is said officers at Busikirwa Police Post after realising they could not handle the case forwarded it to Kira Police Station and nothing much came from there.
According to Arti 123 of the Penal Code Act Chapter 120, any person who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl without her consent has committed rape. A person who commits rape is liable to death or imprisonment.
Despite the existence of the law, many girls and women in Uganda are raped every year by their employers and other men who offer the victims and parents money to settle the matter. This illegal activity (where some police officers) are involved has perpetrated sexual abuse and violence against women.