Mr Joseph Collins Twahirwa, accused of raping Ms Saulite Anda, in the dock at Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court on January 18, 2023. PHOTO/ ABUBAKER LUBOWA
Lady in Latvian tourist rape saga fears for her life
What you need to know:
- Concerns. “There is a man who first helped the lady report the matter. On the day when NTV ran the story, he came to say the pastor is ready to pay me whatever money I want so as to stop following that matter because it seems things are getting out of hand,” Sumaya Uwiragiye, complainant
A woman, who claims she helped a Latvian national break the silence
about her sexual abuse at the hands of a Ugandan pastor, says her life
is in danger.
Ms Sumaya Uwiragiye has had to keep a wine shop and
restaurant she operates at Lukuli Nanganda in Makindye Division under
lock and key after Ms Saulite Anda spoke exclusively to NMG Uganda about
her predicament.
Ms Anda, 36, accused Mr Joseph Collins Twahirwa of raping her during
her first night in Uganda on December 11, 2022. Mr Twahirwa, 28, was
last week remanded into custody at Luzira prison.
Now Ms Uwiragiye,
32, who helped Ms Anda tell her story to NMG Uganda, suspects she is
being trailed by Mr Twahirwa’s emissaries.
“There is a man who first helped the lady report the matter at Jinja
Road Police Station. On the day when NTV ran the story, he came to say
the pastor is ready to pay me whatever money I want so as to stop
following that matter because it seems things are getting out of hand,”
Ms Uwiragiye said in an interview on Sunday. She told this publication
that the unidentified man didn’t take no for an answer. On January 15,
she was reportedly trailed by men on two motorcycles. This was as Ms
Uwiragiye returned home with her sister.
“I have been forced to
close the restaurant since January 15 because I do not know these people
and their intentions,” she revealed, adding, “They can easily kill me. I
do not know who they are, but I suspect these are followers of the
pastor who are not pleased that he was remanded to prison.”
Ugandan pastor charged with raping Latvian tourist, remanded
What you need to know:
- Prosecution led by Ms Doreen Elima alleges that Pr Twahirwa, a lawyer by profession, on December 12, 2022 at Munyonyo Zone in Kampala had unlawful carnal knowledge with Saulite Anda without her consent.
Pastor Joseph Collins Twahirwa appeared before Nakawa Chief Magistrate Ritah Neumbe Kidasa who read to him the rape charges following his arrest this week.
Accordingly, the case was deferred to February 1, 2023 as police investigations continue.
Twahirwa was also remanded until then when he will be brought back to court for mention of the case.
This
past weekend, Nation Media Group-Uganda exclusively reported about the
predicament Anda claims Joseph Collins Twahirwa subjected her to shortly
after touching down in Uganda on December 11, 2022.
The 36-year-old
Latvian said Mr Twahirwa told her “he wanted to have a baby … pushed me
onto the bed and raped me” on the night of December 11, 2022.
Anda
also recounted her torment when she tried to file a case, first, at
Jinja Road Police Station and, later, the Directorate of Criminal
Investigations (CID).
At the former, officers asked the Latvian to either “buy [fuel] to
put in [their] car” or “to sleep with me.” At CID, the officers told
Anda that she was “playing with a man who has big people around.”
The
officers at Jinja Road Police Station, including Detective Sergeant
Oyela Doreen, Detective Corporal Judith Akite, and Detective Joyce
Ayeleget, were on Sunday arrested and will be charged with irregular
conduct contrary to Code 12 Section 44 of the Police Act.
Anda’s case
has put the reputation of police officers on the line as much as
pentecostal pastors. When the Latvian tried to file a case at Jinja Road
Police Station, it is alleged that the police officers joined Mr
Twahirwa’s followers in tormenting her.
Anda told us that her phone was grabbed and all communications she had
with Mr Twahirwa on social media were deleted in an attempt to destroy
evidence of their interactions. Before, the officers at the station had
allegedly forcibly removed shoes from her feet and roughed her up before
locking her up in a cell. She was later released and ordered to
withdraw the case against Mr Twahirwa.
In our last conversation with
Anda, she expressed fears that her life was in danger following her
first interview with us. A black car with red plates had been trailing
her. The State has since secured her and given her a protection detail
until the time of her departure.
