allAfrica.com: Uganda: Pastor Rapes, Impregnates His Daughter (Page 1 of 2)

A Kampala preacher who allegedly raped and impregnated his 16-year-old daughter says jealous pastors simply want to bring him down.

The girl produced a baby boy who made 6 months this week.

In a bizarre twist, the mother of his abused girl claims that she herself was forced into sex by the same pastor, resulting in the conception of Lucia (real name withheld).

Pastor Herbert Bugembe, 33, of the defunct Great Commission Christian Centre in Bweyogerere, is said to have raped Lucia, now 17, in Nairobi last year.

Lucia's mother, Joyce, claims that she conceived her daughter after Bugembe forcibly had sex with her in 1989.

At that time, both Bugembe and Joyce were only 15, the same age Lucia was when she was allegedly raped by her father.

Under Chapter 14 of the Penal Code Act, both rape and defilement carry a maximum death penalty. Incest, which is sexual intercourse with a blood-relative, is punishable by up to seven years. If the person with whom the incest was committed is below 18, a culprit faces life imprisonment.

Bugembe this week calmly denied Lucia's accusations in a two-hour interview outside his house in Mutungo, charging that some pastors were trying to tarnish his name. He said he had temporarily put his church on hold because of the problems associated with Lucia.

But this newspaper has seen signed documents where Bugembe admits that he "attempted" to sexually assault his daughter. In another document signed five months ago, Bugembe admitted being the father of his daughter's child, who made six months on Monday.

The Weekly Observer has learnt that Bugembe was reported to the Police CID in Kampala by a child-rights organisation in September. But no action has been taken so far, reportedly because the case is complicated by the fact that the alleged crime was committed in another country.

Long story

Spanning two decades and two countries, the story starts in Jinja in 1989. Joyce was working as house-girl at the home of Bugembe's elder sister, Sarah. Bugembe, then 15, was living with the family.

In an interview at her two-room rented home in Kayunga last week, Joyce said Bugembe forcibly had sex with her that year. By the time she found out that she was pregnant, she had lost her house-girl's job and returned to Kayunga. She went on to deliver Lucia but Bugembe denied that he was the father.

On his part, Bugembe told The Weekly Observer that "like any young man then", he "played around" with Joyce "about 20 years ago". As to whether he was the father of Lucia, Bugembe said the matter would be resolved by a DNA test, which he was ready to pay for. He did not say why that test has never been taken.

Joyce, now a married mother of seven, says that Bugembe's relatives, persuaded by a resemblance between him and the baby, accepted Lucia and lived with her at various times. Aged 7, she was taken in by Bugembe's sister called Prosy who lived in Nsambya. It was not until she was 14 that she moved to Mutungo Zone 6, where her father Bugembe lives with his wife and six children.

Father's care

What happened thereafter is not clear and depends on who you talk to. Lucia says she was mistreated by both her father and step-mother. At one point she ran away and went to live with her mother in Kayunga. On other occasions, she either took refuge at a teacher's house or a Local Councillor's home, because Bugembe allegedly wanted to rape her.

In response to these allegations, Bugembe calls Lucia a liar who has teamed up with rival pastors to bring him down. Asked to name and shame these jealous pastors, Bugembe said he had not kept their names, as that would create lasting enmity - something unchristian.

He also claimed that Lucia was being sponsored by her mother to make the allegations in order to get money out of him. To show how bad his daughter can be, Bugembe said that Lucia had gone to the extent of smuggling witchcraft - green leaves and tips of chicken legs wrapped in bark cloth - into his bedroom.

"But do you think [Lucia] can design witchcraft?" Bugembe said. "There is a force behind her. When you become a pastor, you have to be ready for any attack."

However, the area Local Council leaders have a different story. The Mutungo Zone 6 Secretary for Women, Jane Nalongo Lugayizi, said she was aware that Lucia had run away from home several times, claiming that Bugembe was harassing her.

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