law
File photo: Gavel

A 16-year-old Senior High School form two student in Bududa District, Uganda has narrated how she was waylaid and attacked by a machete-wielding man who cut off her hand after she resisted his attempt to rape her. 
 
Evelyn Namasopo told Mbale Chief Magistrate, James Mawanda, during a session at Bubulo Magistrate’s Court in Manafwa District on Wednesday, April 7, that the suspect, Derrick Kuloba, 25, attacked her near a forest on her way home to pick beddings and food for her sick mother who had been admitted.
 
“He (Kuloba) started ordering me to undress and when I refused he pulled out a machete and started cutting me. He wanted to cut my head but I tried to guard it with my right hand,” she told the court during hearing of a case in which Mr Kuloba is accused of attempted murder.
 
 She said she raised an alarm to get help but it was in vain, adding that she’s still experiencing a lot of pain
 
The victim accused police and Mbale Court of trying to frustrate her case because suspect Kuloba was released under unclear circumstances a few days after his arrest.
 
“I need justice from this court because I’m now disabled. I’m not able to do day-to-day activities like I used to. I can’t even write,” she explained.
 
The prosecution told court that suspect Kuloba, a resident of Nabooti Village, Nakatsi Sub-County in Bududa District, on July 4, 2020, armed with a machete, waylaid the victim and attacked her before chopping off her right hand in a botched rape.
 
The girl also sustained several injuries on other parts of the body. The prosecution presented three witnesses; the victim, her cousin and uncle.
 
In her testimony, the girl further asked the court to give suspect Kuloba a harsh punishment.
 
Her mother, Ms Juliet Khainza said: “We had waited for this case to start but in vain. I want my daughter to get justice.”
 
She also asked the suspect to foot her daughter’s medical bills, pending judgment, saying her family could no longer afford her medication.