HIV/AIDS Victim Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Aggravated Defilement in Kisoro

KISORO – The Kabale High Court sitting in Kisoro District has Convicted and Sentenced an HIV/AIDS victim to prison for 6 years over an aggravated defilement case.

The convicted individual, Ronald Kwitonda, is a resident of Busenyangabo village, Busengo Parish, Nyarubuye sub-county in Kisoro District.

Yesterday, during his court appearance, the sentencing of the convict was adjourned to today, August 11th, 2023. On this occasion, Ronald requested the Judge to consider his sentence in a manner akin to how he would treat his own son.

The accused committed the crime on January 1st, 2020. He is alleged to have exposed a minor girl to the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. The incident took place between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM, as the girl was returning home from Kinanira Catholic Church Parish after prayers.

The girl recounted the distressing incident to her father, where she identified Ronald as a member of the youth group at Gachacha Hika Catholic Church.

The Kabale High Court Judge, Hon. Emokor Samuel, emphasized that the gravity of the offense was not solely linked to the HIV/AIDS condition of the convict. Instead, it revolved around the act of defilement itself.

The Judge underlined that imposing the sentence aimed to communicate to society at large the perilous nature of such actions on human lives.

When delivering the sentence, Justice Samuel reduced the original 10-year term by 3 years and 7 months, arriving at a final verdict of 6 years, 4 months, and 21 days. Consequently, Ronald Kwitonda officially commenced his prison term today.

Meanwhile, the parents of the convict expressed profound distress over their child’s actions. They conveyed their dissatisfaction with the offense committed by their child and appealed to the father of the victim for forgiveness.

However, the victim’s father declined to forgive before the court’s final ruling was issued by the Judge.