By Executive Editor
The Parliament of Uganda has taken interest in a case of defilement involving Dodoth Member of Parliament, Ben Batoom Koryang.
Batoom is accused of defiling a teenager. His victim later gave birth to a baby boy.
The lawmaker is accused of frustrating the case when it was first registered in Kaboong district.
However, recently, a team from the Criminal Investigations Directorate in Kampala was dispatched to Kaboong to get to the bottom of the matter under General Inquiry File GEF12/2023.
Now, we have learned that Parliament, led by the Speaker, Annet Anita Among, has taken an interest in the matter.
“The Speaker is a family person and ensures that MPs take responsibility. She has picked up interest in the matter, and she will bring it to its logical conclusion,” a source in Parliament said.
The source adds that the interest of the leadership of Parliament in the matter was thus a welcome gesture, and that the parents and other community stakeholders have vowed not to give up on the matter until justice is served.
It should be remembered that when the allegations first came to light, Hon. Baatom used his close colleague in the Ministry of Ethics to try to frustrate the investigations.
The matter was only resurrected when incorruptible police officers in Kibuli recalled the file for further management and a general inquiry file was opened to take further evidence.
In other jurisdictions, when such allegations are made, a member of Parliament normally takes the moral path of resigning their position until such a time as they are exonerated.
It should, however, be remembered that the leadership of Rt. Hon. Anita Among has taken a stringent path against indiscretions by members, and the interest of Parliament in this matter is a sign of that strictness.
“Otherwise the parents of the victim have vowed to keep pressing the matter until fairness and justice come to light,” said the source.
