A Ugandan prosecutor has ordered the arrest of a Catholic priest who allegedly defiled two girls, and possibly infected them with HIV. Director of Public Prosecutions Richard Butera said evidence was sufficient to charge Fr Santos Constatino Wapokura, New Vision reports.
“That matter is clear: He should be charged,” Butera said in an interview.
He explained that the resident state attorney had already been instructed to charge the priest.
“He should have appeared in court and if he has not, I wonder why,” he said. In an earlier interview, the head of criminal investigations, Edward Ochom, ruled out settling the matter out of court, saying the offence was capital.
“We can afford to do that for chicken thieves, but not for a matter like this. He should be charged,” Ochom said.
The directive, Ochom said, had been communicated to the Police upcountry. It was unthinkable for a suspect on such a charge, he said, to be let off the hook out-of-court.
However, despite Ochom’s and Butera’s orders, the priest had not yet been re-arrested by press time.
Wapokura, 45, the parish priest of Pakwach, is accused of defiling a 14-year-old girl who was serving in the church.
Wapokura had been in Police custody twice over the same allegations. His latest release was ordered by the resident state attorney, Innocent Obale, purportedly to allow the parties resolve the matter out of court.
Upon his arrest last month, the Police said the clergyman tested positive for HIV and upgraded his offence to aggravated defilement.
He faces hanging if convicted. The priest dismissed the allegations as a ploy to taint his name.
SIC: CTHUSA