Lwengo resident arrested for starving, torturing own children

Lwengo, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The police in Lwengo district is holding a 37-year-old man for allegedly torturing and starving his children.

Ivan Kisekka, a resident of Kakoma village in Kisseka sub county is detained at Lwengo district Central Police for allegedly starving and causing grievous body injuries on his sons, aged five and three years.

Muhammad Nsubuga, the Greater Masaka Regional Police Spokesperson says the suspect was arrested following a tip-off from the village defense secretary who reported a case of child neglect in the area.

He says that the police recovered the victims and ascertained that they were being starved in addition to being subjected to physical torture. According to Nsubuga, they have established that the suspect earlier divorced his wife and instead turned the anger on his children.

Robert Mukyazi, the defense secretary at Kakoma village narrates that the children were found already malnourished and with visible scars and fresh wounds on their bodies, an indication that they were suffering abuse, which prompted them to seek police for action against the culprits.

However, the suspect is said to have told police during interrogation that he never intended to torture the children, arguing that he was only disciplining them.

Sofia Nakate, the programs officer at the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers, Lwengo district has condemned the abuse of victims, indicating that they are currently following up on five similar cases in the area which were registered in a space of three months.

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