Catholic nuns held over marijuana plant
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/722171
Tuesday, 8th June, 2010
By Ali Mambule
THE Police in Masaka have arrested two nuns for allegedly participating in growing marijuana.
The two nuns, who had declined to reveal their identities to the Police, were picked from Bwanda Convent in Masaka district, where the Police found a banana plantation full of the illegal crop.
The New Vision later learnt that one of the nuns is Nanteza, while the other is Sister Rita.
The Masaka district Police commander, Titus Byaruhanga, also arrested two other men — Joseph Rwakasore and Raymond Muwanga — who were found attending to the plantation.
However, there was a scuffle when Sister Nanteza attacked the Police, accusing them of entering the convent without permission.
“You bypassed us without saying anything. What if you got a problem here, whose fault would it be?” Sister Nanteza asked Byaruhanga and other Police officers.
The officers said they were fully armed and expected less resistance from the religious women.
When asked to make a statement, Sister Nanteza refused and moved towards her residence. But Byaruhanga instructed his female officer, identified as Donam, not to let her go, unless she recorded a statement.
Donam then tried leading Nanteza to one of the Police vehicles, but she declined.
Nanteza was later joined by her colleague, Rita and were both led to Masaka Police Station.
The southern regional Police spokesperson, Noah Serunjogi, said they were yet to forward the two nuns to court to be charged.
“No one is allowed to plant marijuana,” Serunjogi said, adding that some people took advantage of the religious leaders’ residences to commit crime.
Byaruhanga said his intention was not to arrest the nuns, but he was forced to lead them to Masaka Police Station when they refused to record a statement.
Sister Rita told Byaruhanga that the marijuana was not for sale, but for treating farm animals, particularly pigs.
The nuns were later released on Police bond after recording statements, but Rwakasore and Muwanga were detained.
Over the last one year, the Police have been carrying out operations to net people growing and dealing in marijuana.
Acting on tip-offs from area residents, the Police was able to uproot the crop from several gardens in Wakiso, Luwero, Masaka, Busia and in parts of northern Uganda. In some cases, the suspects were got with rolls of dry marijuana in sacks.
Catholic priest held over defiling girl
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/707529
Monday, 18th January, 2010
By Chris Ocowun, Charles Mukiibi and David Labeja
THE Police in Gulu have arrested a Catholic priest, the Rev. Fr. Bosco Mawa, on allegations of defiling and making pregnant a 16-year-old pupil of Gulu Public primary school.
Father Mawa was arrested on Saturday when the father of the girl, Charles Arop Atube, reported the matter to the Police. The case was recorded as SD/72/15/01/2010.
Arop told the Police that when the girl became pregnant, she was made to carry out an abortion at a clinic in Gulu town.
He further told the Police that Mawa had been defiling his daughter in Gulu town where she lived with her aunt, Pamela Acan, for two years.
Arop narrated that he became suspicious when his daughter fell sick. “On January 8, 2010, her condition became critical and she revealed that she had aborted.”
He said the daughter narrated to him how she became pregnant, had an abortion and implicated the priest.
“Up to now, my daughter is still bleeding as a result of the abortion,” he lamented.
Arop, who lives in Lamogi sub-county in Amuru district, said he sent his daughter to his sister in Gulu town for education.
The Police yesterday arrested Mark Okello, said to be the owner of Pilwak Clinic in Cereleno in Gulu town, where the girl is said to have carried out the abortion on January 8.
The Police and a medical team then moved to Lacor to try to retrieve the foetus from a pit-latrine where the girl allegedly dumped it, wrapped in her underpants.
The Police officer who led the team, Andrew Gama, said they only recovered the underpants.
Dr. Otto Omona, who was at the scene, said the foetus could have decomposed in the latrine since it had been there for 10 days. He added that there was need to conduct tests to establish whether the same pants were used for wrapping the foetus.
“We cannot guarantee that the underpants we got from the latrine were used for wrapping the baby. We have to take the cloth to Kampala to carry out DNA tests,” Omona said, adding that the blood stains on the pants would be tested against the girl’s blood.
The Gulu district officer in charge of criminal investigations, Moses Byabagye, explained that they were still carrying out investigations against Mawa. The priest was being investigated over defilement and abortion under a Police file CRB 88/2010, Byabagye explained.
Earlier, the regional Police spokesman, Johnson Kilama, said: “The Rev. Fr. Mawa is under Police custody for allegedly defiling a 16-year- old girl.”
Mawa reportedly belongs to the Comboni Missionaries and is based in Southern Sudan. Gulu Archbishop John Baptist Odama said he had no knowledge of the priest since his jurisdiction does not extend to Sudan.
The Police said the girl will be subjected to a medical examination to establish whether she had an abortion.
As is the case in defilement offences, the priest was subjected to an HIV/AIDS test, according to the Police.
