Ugandans have been left in shock after a hitherto ignored case of a Kyambogo University professor and deputy vice chancellor in charge of finance and administration Dr Lawrence Eron being accused of defiling a 16-year-old visually impaired minor came to the fore.
In a move that could see conviction earn the university professor and administrator a death sentence according to the Penal Code, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has sanctioned aggravated defilement charges against Dr Eron.
The charge sheet indicates that Dr Eron committed the offence on October 12, 2023 between Kyambogo University and Namugongo Nsawo.
The visually impaired student was one of the beneficiaries under a project supported by the Royal Dutch Visio whose flagship project is support for children with visual impairments in Uganda. Kyambogo University, particularly the Faculty of Special Needs and Rehabilitation where Dr Eron works, is a key partner of the Royal Dutch Visio organisation.
It was under this partnership that the visually impaired student and others went for a conference in Nairobi Kenya on October 07. The students returned home after one week, arriving at Entebbe International Airport on October 14. Eron reportedly dropped two of the girls at the Namayiba Bus Terminal after which the girls boarded to Lira. He would later report another girl in Kyambogo, staying with one that stayed with her mother in Namugongo, Kira, Wakiso District.
It is said that as they headed home, she in the front passenger seat, the visually impaired girl begged Dr Eron for water to drink which he offered.
It is now believed that the contents of the bottle which he handed the girl with visual impairment could have been laced with a chemical that sent the girl to sleep. Her account which has been recorded at police indicates that when she woke up she had no underwear on and had had a penetration.
Dr Eron is also said to have handed the girl some ‘medicine’ that is now suspected to have been a contraceptive. He also reportedly warned the visually impaired girl against narrating what had happened to her to anyone.
But the girl would report to one of her teachers, prompting the administrators to report the matter first to Kisoga Police Post and later to Mukono Police Station before the matter was referred to Jinja Road Police Station.
Police arrested Dr Eron on October 23. Jinja Road Police Station released the university professor on October 27.
Days later, Kyambogo University issued a statement. “While the truth is yet to be established, the university has zero tolerance to sexual harassment and violence. Management will take all necessary actions to address this form of gross misconduct. If the official is found to have committed the alleged acts he will be held accountable in line with the University’s Human Resource Regulations on gross misconduct,” the university said in a statement after Dr Eron was released on police bond.
According to police’s 2022 crime report, the force registered 3,620 cases of aggravated defilement out of 12,580 cases of defilement reported. Unfortunately, most of these cases do not end up in court and very few of those which end up in temples of justice result in convictions. For example, only 205 of the 4,725 defilement cases that ended in court resulted in convictions in 2022, according to police’s crime report.
Meanwhile, Museveni recently pardoned prisoners, most of them were convicted defilers. (See Names Here).
