Bukwo LC5 chairperson wanted for defilement, trafficking

Bukwo, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Bukwo LCV chairperson Julius Moses Chelimo is wanted by the Criminal Investigations Directorate-CID for alleged defilement and trafficking, police spokesperson Fred Enanga has revealed.

“We are hunting for the chairman LC5 Bukwo district. He has a lot of power and influence in the district and the Sebei region. We also appeal to the public who can lead us to his arrest to help the police,” Enanga said.

Chelimo is accused of luring a sixteen-year-old girl into acts of sexual violence with promises of marrying her and getting her a job in November last year. Preliminary police findings indicate that the teenager traveled from Bukwo district to visit a relative in Kampala where she met Antony Amidu, a friend to the LCV chairperson.

According to the police, Amidu linked the teenager to the chairperson through a phone call and they started communicating. It is alleged that on May 6th, 2022, another person identified as Ratif Amis from Usafi market linked her to Chelimo in Kireka, who transported her to Mbale town where they spent a night together at the Starlight hotel.

The victim then left the hotel and returned to her parents in Bukwo district for two weeks. In their statement to police, the parents claim that the teenager disappeared only to be traced and found at the residence of Doreen Chesang, who is related to Chelimo.

A detective from the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence department at the CID headquarters in Kibuli-Kampala, says that the chairperson caused the disappearance of the teenager between May and August this year and hid her in the home of his relative in Budaka district.

“He has been picking her up from Budaka at the home of his cousin Carolyn Chemutai on several occasions, and taking her to a lodging facility to sleep with her and then transport her back,” the officer said. The teen’s parents were forced to report the matter to the police, which prompted police to evacuate the minor from Budaka police to Kibuli CID headquarters for protection as investigations are ongoing to apprehend the chairperson.

“We deployed to handle the matter in Bukwo last week, given the high profile of the suspect in question. We have got very important statements from the parents and other relevant witnesses plus obtaining samples from the victim for the DNA examination,” the detective noted.

Police spokesperson Fred Enanga has warned the chairperson’s relatives and friends that could be harboring him to give him up, saying that they may suffer the consequences of abetting a crime. Our reporter was unable to establish contact with Chelimo to respond to the allegations leveled against him.

At least 1500 children are abused annually, according to statistics from the Uganda Police Force. However, the conviction of the abusers is as low as 45 cases per 1500 cases registered.

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