UGANDA: Museveni's army forcefully shave Lakony' private parts

MUSEVENI'S ARMY FORCEFULLY SHAVE LAKONY"S PRIVATE PARTS

In May 1999, the Monitor published a photo of a naked woman who was being forcefully held on the ground as one of the soldiers shaved her pubic hair. The said photo had allegedly been given to The Monitor by someone who claimed that it had been taken in Gulu army barracks. A 24 year old female resident of Gulu, Candida Lakony Ochola came out and claimed that she was the lady being shaved in the said photograph. She went further to claim that the soldier doing the actual shaving was her former boyfriend W.O II Nelson Kisaale who was at the time based in Gulu Barracks under the SIB. The army vehemently denied the allegation and the three top tier journalists that included the current leader of the opposition, Wafula Ogutu were arrested and charged with libel after the security forces ransacked the Monitor offices.

The alleged victim, Candida Lakony was taken to Museveni in State House for security protection where she spent two days. On the third day, Museveni handed her over to the Police for prosecution on charges of giving false information to the Police. Before the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court, Candida was represented by Jacob Oulanya (current deputy speaker of parliament) of Mao and Oulanya Advocates. The regime contracted Earnest Kenneth Career a forensic expert to analyse the photographs. The expert submitted his findings and testified during the trial to the effect that neither was it Candida nor Nelson Kisaale in the said photograph. Among the prosecution witnesses was the then Garrison Commander of Gulu army barracks, Capt. Charles Opioid who informed court that indeed at one time Candida Lakony’s head and not the pubic hair was shaved by the army in Gulu barracks as a routine punishment for women who misbehaved in the barracks.

In November 1999, Candida Lakony was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for one year. During the sentencing process, her Lawyer Jacob Oulanya pleaded with court to hand her a lenient sentence owing to the fact that she had spent over five months on remand and that the trial had revealed how women were being tortured in Gulu Barracks. A few days after serving her sentence, Candida Lakony died of a strange illness. Her former boyfriend, Nelson Kisaale is now a Senior Army Officer under the notorious CMI. While the trial of Candida had lasted only five months, the trial of the three Journalists for libel was to last the next six years characterised by convictions, appeals and counter appeals until it was finally dismissed by the highest court in the land. At the time Ugandans viewed the incident as an isolated Candida Lakony affair but almost two decades now, a repeat of history is knocking on their doors and they are yelling on top of their voices.

INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENISM