Police Stuck with Defilement Case Pinning LC3 Chairperson

A defilement case allegedly implicating Peter Ebau, the LC3 chairperson of Awaliwal Sub County has suffered a setback after unknown individuals tampered with the church documents. The case, registered under SD07/10/05/2024 at Gweri Police Station in Soroti district, is faltering after the only document containing the victim’s date of birth was altered during the police investigation.

The defilement case against Ebau surfaced when John Odela, the LC1 Chairperson of Amoroto A in Awaliwal Sub County, reported the alleged defilement by his superior to the police in Gweri.  Sources indicate that Odela's action was prompted by a letter from Simon Peter Ariko, the LC1 Chairperson of Magara in Toroma Sub County, Katakwi district, dated April 28, 2024.   

The letter alleged that Ebau had defiled and impregnated his 15-year-old housemaid, whose name is withheld because she is a minor. “When I received the letter from my colleague, who was accompanied by the minor’s family and the clan leader, I asked if he had verified the information. He asked me to speak directly to the minor,” Odela said in an interview with our reporter.   

Odela said the girl's account shocked everyone present. “She told us about their first encounter in a guesthouse in Otucopi, located along Soroti- Moroto road. She described the attire including the innerwear of the suspect. She also narrated how the suspect allegedly continued to defile her until when the affair almost got exposed,” he noted. 

It was reported that when Ebau learned the girl was pregnant, he sent her back to her parents in Katakwi. Odela then led the team to Ebau’s home, where he addressed the matter in the presence of Ebau’s wife. “The woman fumed at her husband who in turn attacked us for causing the chaos. We were chased away from the home but the family of the girl insisted that they wanted justice,” Odela said. 

He notes that defilement is a criminal matter, so he decided to report the case to the police for investigation. The family was asked to provide documents proving the victim’s age. They returned home to Toroma to retrieve the girl's baptism card from St. Pancras Catholic Parish Toroma. The baptism certificate showed that the victim was born on June 8, 2008, and baptized on November 2, 2008.  

However, a conflicting birth certificate surfaced, bearing a different name with a birth year of 2005. Rev. Fr. Edmond Okela, the Parish Priest of St. Pancras Toroma Catholic Church, confirmed that this new certificate was an alteration of the authentic document. 

The altered certificate, used to grant police bond to Ebau, listed the girl's birth year as 2005. Following his release, Ebau's aides claimed on social media that the arrest was politically motivated. 

How the birth certificate changed names?   

Fr. Okela stated that the authentic baptism certificate, was picked up by the girl's parents and clan leader on May 11, 2024, the day after the case was reported. He expressed surprise when the officer in charge of criminal investigations in Soroti district, D/ASP Ojok reached the parish with a church document bearing a different name. 

“We issued a document bearing.... but we were left in shock when the same document bore a different surname. But I confirmed to the Police officer that whereas the document with its stamp belongs to the church, it has been altered,” he said. 

Simon Peter Ariko confirmed to our reporter that the girl in question is a 15-year-old, not an 18-year-old. He added that she had been employed as a maid in Ebau’s home before recently returning to her village.   

The conspiracy with the family   

In Magere Village, Toroma Sub County, the victim's parents, Christine Okwakol and Raphael Edyangu, now claim their daughter was born in 2005. Okwakol, insisting on this birth date, dismissed any government involvement in their plight and became hostile towards journalists.

“I gave birth to my daughter in 2005. What is your problem? I’m the one who gave birth to this child, not the government,” she told our reporter. She claimed they had not lodged any complaint involving their daughter to the police.  

“Has my husband or anyone of us complained? Why didn’t the government come to our aid when we were suffering with these children,” Okwakol asked before her husband picked a hoe to chase journalists from their home. 

Ateso

//Cue in: “Ingai bo papake…  

Cue out…akiro kwa kangun.”//   

At Katine, the Soroti district police headquarters, D/ASP Ojok stated that Ebau was granted a bond after the mandatory 48-hour detention period to avoid rights violations.  “We didn’t want the suspect to complain of abuse of his rights, knowing that this is a high-profile case. But we are continuing our investigations,” D/ASP Ojok said on Monday. 

Ojok acknowledged rumors of document alterations but referred further inquiries to the East Kyoga Regional Police Headquarters. Attempts to reach the acting East Kyoga Regional Police Spokesman, Edison Ebukulem, were unsuccessful, as he had not been in the office for three days and did not return calls. Regional Police Commander Damalie Nachuha also declined to comment, directing inquiries to the regional PRO.