The Director of Public Prosecutions, Justice Jane Frances Abodo, has reinstated aggravated defilement charges against a senior police officer in Arua, Uganda, involving a nine-month-old baby. This decision follows the closure of the case by the resident chief state attorney of Arua on October 23, who cited insufficient evidence.
The accused in this case is Thomas Otim, a member of the Police Standards Unit in the West Nile region. The closure of the case prompted the baby’s family to lodge a complaint with the Arua regional office of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
Jacquelyn Okui, the ODPP public relations officer, stated, “The regional officer called for the case file for review and later the DPP.” Racheal Ninsiima, the baby’s mother, expressed her dissatisfaction with the initial decision to close the case, saying, “They claimed I had spent over 24 hours before reporting the case, and yet by the time we took the girl to the doctor, he was not at the hospital. But now they are turning around and are saying my girl was not defiled.”
Meanwhile, the DPP is also conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the case’s closure.
The original case file was known as Arua CRB 900/2023. The ODPP stated that they were alerted to complaints on social media regarding the case’s closure.
Having reviewed the evidence, the DPP found it sufficient to sustain the charge of aggravated defilement against Thomas Otim, a police officer. Consequently, the DPP has been collaborating with the Director of CID (Criminal Investigations Directorate) to ensure the suspect’s arrest and subsequent court appearance.
In a letter dated October 24, Richard Okello, the head of West Nile ODPP, directed the officer in charge of CID at Arua Central Police Station to submit the case file to his office to address concerns raised by the baby’s parents.
Josephine Angucia, the West Nile Police region spokesperson, revealed that the resident chief state attorney of Arua had advised them to close the case, citing insufficient evidence to implicate the accused police officer. She explained, “Basing on the legal advice that we got, we acted accordingly and set the suspect free.”
The case originally began with detectives from Arua Police barracks on October 9, 2023, when allegations of aggravated defilement were made. The police conducted a medical examination and recorded statements from the suspect and witnesses.
Thomas Otim, aged 49, was arrested for alleged aggravated defilement, a crime he allegedly committed on October 9. The child’s father, Dr. Charles Madrama, was the first respondent to the child’s injury. As a medical doctor, he noted, “I examined my daughter, and there was an obvious tear on the girl’s genital organ, but the state attorney says my statement disagrees with the doctors who examined and filed the police forms.” Dr. Madrama expressed his disagreement with the state attorney’s perspective and remarked, “He should have behaved like the parent and seen the pain we are going through.”
