Girl Sentenced to Jail for Killing Rapist Father

Eighteen year old girl identified as Afuwah Namata was sentenced to jail on Monday for killing her father who had raped her.

The sentencing was ruled by Masaka High Court presided over by Lady Justice Margaret Oumo Oguli who heard that Namata killed her father identified as Ahmed Majwala on May 8, after he had raped her. However, this was not the first time that she had been raped by her father; he had done the evil deed since she was as young as 13 years of age. The 58-year-old man was allegedly violently killed according to prosecution which was led by Peter Mugisha. Namata killed her father using a knife and a panga after he performed [intimate] acts against her. Girl Sentenced to 6 Hours in Jail for Killing Rapist Father, Despite this, prosecution asked court to give her a death sentence arguing she performed an illegal act since the Ugandan Constitution condemns mob justice. His argument was that she should have reported the matter to police and not killed him. In defense, Edward Kikirengoma argued that the act the father did to his daughter was condemned, especially in Buganda kingdom.

He went on to add that Namata needed to take charge of her life since she had become tired of her father’s cruel acts, adding that court should look into the condition of the girl as she is six months pregnant, with the child of her father. “Namata revealed that as she was sleeping in the house, she did not know that her mother, Halima Nalukwago, 56, had gone out; her father learnt that his wife wasn’t in the house and came into her bed and raped her. Since they were living in a one-room rented house, the father took advantage of his own children,” Mr Kikirengoma said. It emerged that Majwala had also impregnated his three other daughters, Mariam Nanyange who has one child, Sarah Namukasa, who has two and Zaituni Nalugemwa, who has two, all sired by their late father. Defence therefore asked court to give Namata a lenient sentence.

Justice Oguli at last agreed with defence saying judicially, they condemn such acts done by parents to their children which she referred to as “[intimate] harassment”. In the ruling, Justice Oguli said Namata was sentenced from time of the pronounced judgement which was 11am to the time of court’s closure, 5pm, six hours in prison and court told her that she was free to appeal against the sentence. She was then taken to the cells to serve her time at Masaka Prisons. According to the prison warder, Sgt Hakiri, during her stay in prison, Namata was a well-behaved girl. “She interacted with the people around and looked sorry for what she had done,” he said. Despite the release, life is not good for Namata and her family. According to a neighbor, Joyce Nakitende, the family relocated to Lambu Landing Site as residents had wanted to kill them, but police came quickly and rescued them.