By Eriah Lule
On January 9th, 2023, at 1:54 a.m., a shocking video of teenage girls beating and flogging a friend went viral. The girls screamed “man snatcher” while pulling her braids, pouring soapy water on her, and beating their undressed friend on the floor outside the house in the video.
In a press conference, Kampala Metropolitan deputy police spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said police have taken interest in the matter and investigations have kicked off.
“Kawempe Police Division is in touch with the victim and suspects have been identified pending arrest. The incident however took place in one of the rentals in Kiira Municipality. We shall inform you of the progress on file. Police condemns all acts of torture,” he said.
This is just a spark of the many cases of assault and mob justice that young adults face on a daily basis.
Counsel Mike Muhereza, a lawyer with Tumukunde and Company Advocates asserts that this case was an assault. In Uganda, assault is considered a severe crime and is one of the top offenses committed, second only to theft.
The penalties for assault create a lifetime scar and can result in a prison sentence. The Penal Code Act, Cap. 120, specifically Chapter 23, recognizes three types of assault: common assault, assault causing actual bodily harm, and assault causing grievous harm.
According to Mike, “common assault” refers to physical attacks that do not cause any physical injuries and can result in a jail term of up to one year. Assault causing actual bodily harm, which involves causing bruising or other injuries to the skin, can result in a prison sentence of up to five years, a case that these young ladies are facing.
Assault causing grievous harm, which results in injuries that pose a threat to a person’s life, such as a broken bone or severe damage to an organ, can result in a sentence of up to seven years in prison. If the assault results in a death within one year and one day, the offender will be charged with murder.
This was outside the university setting; Birungi (not real names) witnessed two assaults of fellow hostelmates, where the female student burned her male partner with a flat iron in the back and two other classmates fought over a male partner.
“I was frightened because people actually were aimed at injuring others, so that they can inflict the pain they also faced”, she said.
Winnifred Kanyonga Balyesiima, a counselor working with Uganda Christian University; according to her, the root cause of this upheaval among young people is coming from unstable families. Many can’t support children’s behavioral traits as they are growing.
“Many students do things that shame the environments they live in, and they end up judging these environments for not doing enough to mentor them,” she said. “But charity begins at home; many of our actions reflect the places and families we come from.”
According to her, because of such actions, many end up with trauma, anxiety, which develops into depression, and sometimes death, if not attended to.
