The Jinja Grade One Magistrate Court on Monday, December 16, 2024, remanded Hellen Judith Baliraine on accusations of aggravated torture.
Presided over by Yafesi Ochieng, the honorable court sent the 41-year-old woman, who severely tortured 8-year-old Catherine Kisakye, her stepsister, to remand.
Magistrate Ochieng, who read the charges to the embattled Baliraine, did not allow her to enter a plea regarding the capital offense.
“This court has no jurisdiction over capital offenses like aggravated torture, and you are not allowed to take a plea here,” Ochieng told Baliraine during the court session.
The Magistrate, therefore, remanded her to Kirinya Prison until January 6, 2025, when she will reappear for commitment to the High Court.
Allegations suggest that Baliraine, an employee of Kakira Sugar Limited, subjected the young girl to brutal abuse from September to December 2024.
Her apprehension came after Baliraine took the severely abused girl to Bugembe Health Centre IV for medical treatment, as she noticed the victim’s health was deteriorating.
Medical workers questioned the woman, who refused to allow a physical examination of the patient. They reported her to the police after she resisted in the health facility, and she was arrested by officers from Bugembe Police Station.
Her case has since sparked widespread outrage, with children’s rights activists and members of the public condemning the abuse.
There were also concerns from the public following reports that she had initially been released on police bond under the influence of Jinja’s influential politicians. However, attention was drawn to the case, and she was rearrested and detained at Nalufenya Police Station.
Baliraine, now in prison uniform at Kirinya, is serving time for her brutal abuse of a minor.
Under Ugandan law, aggravated torture is a capital offense, punishable by a maximum sentence of life imprisonment upon conviction.
