Kisoro District | The Black Examiner – The Kabale High Court, convened in Kisoro District, has handed down a six-year prison term to Ronald Kwitonda, an individual living with HIV/AIDS, for his involvement in an aggravated defilement case.
Kwitonda, a resident of Busenyangabo village, Busengo Parish, Nyarubuye sub-county within Kisoro District, was found guilty of committing the heinous act on January 1st, 2020. The court proceedings, which saw Kwitonda appear before the judge yesterday, adjourned the sentencing to Friday, August 11th, 2023.
During the trial, Kwitonda pleaded with the Judge, requesting a sentence reflecting compassion and understanding, similar to what one might offer their own child. His appeal came after the victim, a minor girl, had narrated the traumatic incident to her father. In her account, she identified Kwitonda as a member of the youth group associated with Gachacha Hika Catholic Church.
Hon. Emokor Samuel, the presiding Judge of the Kabale High Court, emphasized that the severity of the offense was not solely hinged on Kwitonda’s HIV/AIDS condition, but rather on the act of defilement itself. Judge Samuel underscored that the sentence aimed to convey to society the gravity of such acts on human lives.
Justice Samuel mitigated the initially proposed ten-year term, reducing it by three years and seven months. The final verdict imposed a prison sentence of six years, four months, and twenty-one days. Consequently, Ronald Kwitonda officially began serving his sentence today.
Meanwhile, the parents of the convicted individual expressed profound distress over their child’s actions. They openly conveyed their dissatisfaction with the offense committed by their child and approached the victim’s father to seek forgiveness. However, the victim’s father chose to withhold forgiveness until the court’s final ruling was issued by Judge Samuel.
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