The Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court has handed a six-month jail term to a 23-year-old woman for severely torturing an 11-year-old girl who worked as her domestic helper.
Charity Iwutung, a resident of Mulimira Zone in Kamwokya, a densely populated area in Kampala, was convicted and sentenced by Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi after she admitted to the offence.
“The accused is sentenced to six months in prison. After accounting for the time already spent on remand, she will serve three months and nine days,” Magistrate Kayizzi declared.
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The court also directed that the child be returned to her home district of Nebbi and placed under the care of the African Hearts Community Organisation, which has been providing her with temporary shelter and psychological support.
During the hearing, state prosecutor Ivan Kyazze noted that Iwutung had no previous convictions and was being treated as a first-time offender. He further revealed that the child and the accused are blood relatives, a detail that made the case more troubling.
“Despite their family ties, the treatment the child received was cruel and degrading,” Kyazze said. “Instead of care, she was met with brutality unbefitting of a relative.”
In her defense, Iwutung’s lawyer, Chris Ochom, appealed for leniency, stating that his client is a young mother of two and a committed member of her community.
“She’s just 24, with two young children. She’s expressed deep remorse and is eager to change her ways,” Ochom said. “This experience has been eye-opening for her.”
Court records detail that the abuse came to light after Iwutung tied the child’s hands and legs, poured water on her, and beat her with a metal bar. The girl’s cries for help prompted neighbours to intervene and rescue her, leading to Iwutung’s arrest.
According to the court documents, “The loud cries of the victim alerted neighbours, who broke in and rescued her from the locked room, resulting in the suspect’s arrest.”
The African Hearts Community Organisation, which works to protect vulnerable children, voiced concern over the increasing cases of abuse involving underage domestic workers.
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