{{MASAKA}} – {A 54-year old man is to spend the rest of his life in prison for raping and impregnating his 14-year-old daughter.}
The High Court in Masaka found Geoffrey Rwishasha, a father of six, guilty of the crime on Thursday and convicted him of aggravated defilement.
Prosecution led by Baxter Bakibinga said Rwishaha regularly had sexual intercourse with his biological daughter between the month of January and March 2011 at his residence in Nakasoogo village in Rakai district.
He was arrested and sent on remand at Masaka central prison where he has spent three years.
The girl, who was the principle witness, confessed to court that her father used to force her into sex while in the garden and sometimes could sneak into her bedroom at night.
It is said that although the victim reported the matter to her mother, Rwishasha went on with his habits an indicator that he was not regretful.
Bakibinga further explained that the girl later gave birth to a child who is now three years old.
He told court that Rwishasha’s acts do not only translate to aggravated defilement, but also involves incest, and asked court to give him to the maximum sentence.
“The convict did not only violate the victim’s innocence but also abused her privacy of committing sexual acts on her. The behaviour of the convict is an abomination of cultures for fathers to know the privacy of their daughters” Bakibinga said.
According to Bakibinga, the victim dropped out of school and is suffering social trauma in the community she stays in. He added that people of Rwishasha’s characters need a long custodial sentence to protect young girls from their acts.
When given a chance to say something, Rwishasha just pleaded guilty to the charges and asked court for a lenient sentence. Although he had spent three years in custody, court did not heed to his pleas for pardon or a lighter sentence.
The defence lawyer Gorreth Ayebale, asked court to grant Rwashasha a lighter sentence since he had conformed during the time he spent on remand.
However, Justice Margaret Oumo Oguli, who presided over the case, said the convict did not exhibit any signs of repentance during his trial in court adding that his actions also traumatised the rest of his daughters hence violating the norms and culture practices.
“The convict does not need to stay in community and needs to be separated from young girls because his daughter dropped out of school at a tender age and she is disturbed by being a young mother” Oguli stated in her ruling.
She further sentenced Rwishasha in jail for the rest of his life as per Section 129 (1) of the Penal Code Act.
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