Child’s testimony leads to long-awaited justice in Uganda
Violence
November 2024
At the end of last month, a man was sentenced to 17 years in prison for the sexual assault of Druscilla* in 2019, when she was just six years old.
The man was well-known to Druscilla’s family. He offered to take Druscilla to a nearby shopping centre, claiming he would buy her sweets. But instead, he sexually assaulted her.
When her mother found her and discovered what had happened, she quickly reported the abuse to the police. The man was charged and remanded.
IJM became involved in October 2024 when the case was at risk of dismissal, despite the overwhelming evidence against the perpetrator. The police and social services had struggled to maintain contact with Druscilla, meaning that she hadn’t come to court to testify.
“Police are sometimes reluctant to summon witnesses where witnesses are from rural places," IJM’s Legal Coordinator Ruth Ongom (pictured) explained.
"In this case, the distance from the court to the victim's village is 55 kilometres and transport is by motorcycle.
“It is also hard to summon witnesses with no means of communication. Even for those with mobile phones, they might still be hard to reach, because of poor network in the villages.”
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions contacted IJM for support. We helped the Police to locate Druscilla and summon other witnesses to court.
Accompanied by an IJM lawyer, Druscilla – now 12 years old - was finally able to testify. She powerfully stated, “He destroyed my rights.”
As a result, at the end of October 2024, the perpetrator pleaded guilty and was finally convicted.
Long delays in court processes like this make justice harder to obtain. IJM is bringing together critical justice service actors to collaborate on each case, leading to trauma-informed care and faster progress of cases through the justice system.
Find out more about IJM’s work to stop violence against women and children >>
*Pseudonym