“The court was told that Birungi had informed the lodge management that the girl was his daughter and, because he is blind, they did not suspect any wrongdoing.”
A 44-year-old blind man who depended on begging in the districts of Kampala and Mukono has been convicted of defilement.
Court has identified the convict as Ivan Birungi and the victim is a 15-year-old girl who was hired from her parents from the village to take care of the blind man as a helper.
The prosecution, led by Josephine Nanyonga, the Mukono Senior Resident State Attorney, told court that Birungi had requested the girl from her parents to assist him with various domestic chores, saying he could not take care of himself due to his blindness.
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However, it was alleged that Birungi, who was then begging on streets of Kampala upon receiving the victim, hired a lodge where he slept with her and forced her into sexual acts throughout the night of February 3, 2026.
“He went on to threaten the girl that if he told anyone about what had transpired, he would dismiss her,” Nanyonga said.
She said that in the morning, with the help of the girl, Birungi went back on the streets of Kampala to do his begging business and at night they went back to the lodge and he started from where he had stopped.
“In the morning, the girl started feeling pain in her genitals and asked Birungi to take her back to the village. Instead, Birungi just relocated from Kampala to Mukono and also hired a lodge where they spent a night.”
Court further heard that in Mukono, the girl managed to escape from Birungi and went to the lodge attendant identified as Mary Nalumusi to whom she disclosed her torment.
It was during that moment that a customer had the girl revealing to the attendant and picked interest, asking why would the lodge attendant allow the girl to sleep in the same room with the man.
“The court was told that Birungi had informed the lodge management that the girl was his daughter and, because he is blind, they did not suspect any wrongdoing.”
Police were alerted and swung into action, arresting Birungi and charging him accordingly.
Through his defence lawyer, Lydia Nanyombi of Nanyombi, Kyamuhangire Advocates, Birungi admitted to committing the offence and asked the court for a lenient sentence.
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He said that he is a first offender and being blind, he finds a lot of hardships in prison given the fact that he cannot help himself for anything.
From his knees, Birungi asked for forgiveness before God and Court saying he had learnt that the act he committed was not good.
“My Lord, I am blind and depend entirely on others for assistance. I cannot manage life in prison on my own. I need help with basic daily activities, including going to the toilet. I have never committed any offence before; this is my first time. I pray for the court’s leniency,” he pleaded.
However, Nanyonga asked the court to adjourn the case to allow the prosecution time to consult the victim and her family and update them on the status of the matter.
“I will first seek their views before making submissions on the appropriate sentence to be imposed on the convict,” she said.
The magistrate adjourned the court until March 2, 2026 when he will be served with the sentence.