Humanist

It was not proper for her to push the complainant (Alinga) and the suspect to have the matter amicably settled … The D/ASP should be cautioned to desist from settling criminal matters at Police.” 

Uganda Police Professional Standards Unit

The Uganda Police Professional Standards Unit concluded following its investigation of Alinga’s complaint against the D/ASP on grounds that the D/ASP had mishandled Alinga’s police case file.

Alinga’s complaint is about criminal trespass, theft and malicious damage of her property.

Forcing victims of gender-based violence to “amicably settle criminal matters at Police” perhaps explains why many women victims of male-on-female gender-based violence choose not to report offences against them to the Police.

Sexual and gender-based violence, moreover, is rife in Alinga’s ancestral sub-region, Bukedi … Read more here

• 100% of girls and women interviewed by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics confirmed being victims of sexual and gender-based violence since age 15.

• According to these victims, few of them, less than 35%, spoke to someone about their plight. A huge majority chose to stay silent and told no one.

• Of the few victims who spoke out, moreover, less than 15% notified and sought help from the Police.

Alinga’s courage to notify and seek help from the Police against her tormentor is because she is a chief executive officer of a significant organisation, a media personality, a blogger, an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, a highly educated, propertied and empowered woman.

CLICK HERE for updates on her legal battle.

Be that as it may, many women victims of gender-based violence of Alinga’s calibre choose not to speak out. Societal pressure on them to “amicably settle” with their tormentor is immense.

For many victims, after all, as is the case for Alinga, their tormentors are high functioning sociopaths, who are cunning and have mastered the art of telling lies and misleading authorities who fall victim of the criminal’s charm and deceit.

In Alinga’s case, her tormentor, the criminal, masquerades as an officer of the court, but an advocate he is obviously not. An Advocate is a lawyer who is enrolled and has a valid practicing certificate to practice in the Courts of Law of Uganda; which practicing certificate is renewed annually.

Lawyers who do not fulfil the requirements are annually automatically weaned out and loose the privilege and the honour of being among Advocates. They are undeserving and not part of the community accorded the title “counsel” and or ‘learned fellow.”

A tell sign that the criminal tormenting Alinga is masquerading as an officer of the court when he is not, is because he blatantly disobeys court orders, for example. To disobey a court order is criminal against the oath of an advocate, whose first responsibility and duty is to Court. I digresses, back to the point.

The one tormenting Alinga uses corrupt means in furtherance of his criminal activities – you cannot rule out the likelihood that he doles out cash bribes to those in authority to make the case go away and to silence Alinga.

And because he engages in such criminal activity, he is delusional that all who access services of Uganda’s justice system necessarily do as he does; which is not always the case – Alinga is one among many who are seeking justice while abiding by the laws of Uganda.

“Just because she has money, otherwise, she would already be ash.”

Blurted out a goon on the payroll of Alinga’s tormentor; which utterance the tormentor reinforced with a dog whistle to his goons assembled:

“Why don’t you want to tell Alinga the truth?”

It was during an irregular meeting that the criminal had caused to be technically legally convened for the purpose of intimidating Alinga and to ‘manufacture evidence’. There were video cameras rolling during the irregular meeting and which captured it all.

One of Alinga’s brothers, among top videographers in Uganda, had had the presence of mind to bring to the irregular meeting his powerful video camera to document the meeting.

He was taken aback by the goon’s utterance and so he asked the goon: “What would Alinga be?” The goon did not even try to take it back, he answered emphatically: “she would be ash.”

The ‘Alinga-would-be-ash’ exchange was spoken in Ateso, the language of the fifth largest first nation of Uganda, the Iteso; of whom Alinga is descended. When in Ateso one proclaims you “would already be ash,” it means that you would already be dead.

Among Iteso, when an adult dies, throughout the days of the funeral ceremonies there will be a fire that is not extinguished until three days after the burial, when official mourning is declared ended. The symbolic ending of official mourning in Teso is distinguishing the mourning fire, collecting and disposing of the ash.

Bizzare as the goon’s reasoning is, one can assume that he and his master, the tormentor, have a line they will not cross in their criminal activity against Alinga. They fear to cross that line, because they perceive Alinga economically empowered; and with means to obtain justice for her.

And so, whereas, her economic empowerment did not stop her tormentor from orchestrating and mating out gender-based violence against her, it seems Alinga being economically empowered intimidates and restricts her tormentor.

In essence, Alinga’s tormentor is a coward for his is a bully and all bullies are cowards.

CALL TO ACTION: Be part of solution against gender-based violence. Click here to learn more and to make a donation in support of Financial Literacy and Loans for Women in Uganda. THANK YOU!