By Brave Tumuranzye,
BUSHENYI
Police in Bushenyi district are hunting for a man who defiled his 16-year-old maid and forced her to abort.
Kenneth Akanduhura Mugisha,35, a resident of Kyeitembe ward, East division in Bushenyi -Ishaka municipality is in hiding after he allegedly defiled and impregnated his underaged housemaid who he threatened not to tell anyone about her pregnancy.
It is alleged that the victim, Juliet (surname withheld because she is a minor), a resident of the same village was working as a maid at the suspect’s home where she was defiled and impregnated in November 2023. The suspect reportedly asked the victim to keep it a secret until a suspicious aunt took her to a hospital and tested positive for pregnancy.
According to the greater Bushenyi region police spokesperson, Martial Tumusiime, the victim was taken to a hospital in February 2024, and the pregnancy was terminated.
According to police, Akanduhura (suspect) forced the minor to commit abortion. Tumusiime noted that the suspect is on run but security is searching for his whereabouts to arrest him meanwhile as investigation into the matter continue.
Abortion in Uganda is illegal unless its performed by a licensed medical doctor in conditions where a woman’s life is at a risk. With women lacking access to safe abortion, many women turn to unsafe abortion practices such as induced abortion.
A 2017/18 annual performance report by the ministry of health estimates that 5.3 percent of all maternal deaths resulted from abortion complications.
