A screen grab from the video that has since gone viral on social media, shows Patience Uwimana severely beating the child. Police is yet to arrest the suspect who has since gone into hiding
Abusive mother arrested, child gets bursary up to varsity
Tuesday March 16 2021
By ANTHONY WESAKA
KAMPALA- The woman, who was captured in a viral video beating her child, has been arrested in Bwaise, a city suburb, at a home where she had just got a job to look after children a few days ago.
Ms Patience Owimana, in her 30s and former convict in an attempted murder of her father, had been on the run after she allegedly beat her child Elvin Ssebandeke in Kyazanga, Lwengo District.
The spokesperson of the Criminal Investigations Directorate, Mr Charles Twiine, said upon getting information that she was wanted by the police, she stole the property of her husband Charles Mawanda in Kyazanga and escaped to Luweero.
“She got a new job to look after children in Bwaise, Kampala. The family that didn’t do background search had hired her to look after their children at the time she was arrested. We are holding her on charges of torture,” he said yesterday.
Ssebandeke has been rescued and a local organisation has contacted police to allow them to treat him and also pay his school fees up to university level.
Ms Owimana has a history of crime that she at one time connived with her mother to kill her father. She was convicted and served her sentence. She later went back to her husband in Kyazanga.
But Mr Twiine said Ms Owimana’s husband told detectives that his wife had also threatened to kill him.
At least 1,500 children are tortured annually, according to Uganda Police Force statistics. However, the convictions of the abusers are as low as 45 per 1,500 cases.