High Court sentences man to 40 years’ imprisonment over own daughter defilement

The High Court in Kampala has sentenced a man to a 40-year term of imprisonment over the defilement of his biological daughter. The court, presided over by Justice David Matovu, sentenced Haruna Kalyowa to 40 years’ imprisonment for the defilement of his own daughter, who was 12 years old at the time of the offence.
According to court documents, the offence occurred in 2021 in Sembule Zone, Kabowa Parish, Rubaga Division, Kampala District, where the victim lived with her father and stepmother.

Prosecution, led by Senior State Attorney Carol Tabaro, told court that on the material day, the victim’s stepmother left home to take her baby for immunisation, leaving the victim at home, whose absence Kalyowa took advantage of and sexually assaulted his daughter.
The prosecution noted that the offence was interrupted when the stepmother unexpectedly returned home after realising she had forgotten the baby’s immunisation card and found the accused in the act.
Following the incident, the accused relocated to another residence within the same parish.
The victim later revealed that her father had sexually abused her on more than four occasions.
In 2023, after resisting further advances from her father, the victim confided in a friend at school about the abuse she had endured, which subsequently was brought to the attention of adults, including her biological mother, ultimately leading to the arrest of Kalyowa in June 2023.

During the trial, Kalyowa denied the charges and attributed the allegations to family wrangles.
The prosecution, however, presented seven witnesses whose evidence established his culpability.
Upon evaluating the evidence, the High Court found Kalyowa guilty of defiling his daughter and sentenced him to 40 years’ imprisonment.