Fulgencio Mande Ssenkaayi and his wife Agnes Ndagire of Namatta village in Bbaale parish, Kibanda sub-county were expelled from the village in 2019 on allegations of witchcraft and child sacrifice.
A family is
seeking justice after staying homeless for two years following a mob attack in
which their house and food plantations were destroyed.
Fulgencio
Mande Ssenkaayi and his wife Agnes Ndagire of Namatta village in Bbaale parish,
Kibanda sub-county were expelled from the village in 2019 on allegations of witchcraft
and child sacrifice.
They were
initially arrested by police but later the Director of Public Prosecution
withdrew the case due to lack of evidence. According to Ssenkaayi, they were
falsely accused by his brother and sisters following a bitter dispute over
family land.
He adds that
his family members used the allegations to silence him and put him out of their
way to control the family properties.
//Cue in:
“Nina enyiike yamanyi…
Cue out: “…obufananako
webutyo.”//
Following
the attack on their home, the family sought refuge at Rakai Police Station for
a week and later at Rakai District Headquarters. They are now
accommodated by a Good Samaritan at Kageye village in Byakabanda sub-county.
Ssenkaayi
reported a case of assault, theft, and malicious damage of property at Rakai
Police Station seeking justice and compensation for his properties. He
says his family’s woes deepened due to the delayed judicial processes yet his
tormentors have not stopped.
//Cue in:
“Mubutuufu embeera mbi…
Cue out: “…weneburiza
nkole ntya.”//
Ssenkaayi
noted that he tried to follow his case but his appeals to arrest the suspects
were futile.
//Cue in:
“Omuntu adukira…
Cue out: “…batubuzabuza.”//
Agnes
Ndagire explains that they are worried about their children’s future as
homeless parents. She recounts that she had just returned from Kakuuto Health Centre IV to deliver
her baby when she was arrested on allegations of child kidnap and sacrifice.
//Cue in:
“Omuntu adukira…
Cue out: “…batubuzabuza.”//
Eleven suspects
who were accused of malicious damage of property were supposed to appear in
Rakai Grade One Magistrates court last week, but they failed to turn up, forcing
the court to issue a warrant of arrest.
Davis Buyondo
Freelancer