Joan Acan sees a ray of hope for justice. 

Joan Acan (not real names) was a 17-years old suffering from mental, physical illnesses and had nodding disease syndrome when she was defiled by a one Oryem Alfred Nguti-lit in 2018.
Alfred was a local herbalist/witch doctor who had just bought a piece of land next to Joan’s family home estate. He found out about Joan’s illnesses and persuaded her parents to allow him to heal her of all the diseases she was suffering from.

Joan testified that Alfred told her that she could be healed from her conditions only by way of letting their genitals touch, insisting that it would enable him to insert the herbs for her treatment. He had also warned her not to make mention of this to anyone if she wanted to stay alive. She was hesitant to get the recommended “treatment”, but Alfred forced himself on her anyway.

Joan’s mother later started to notice her daughter’s abnormal change in body size and growth, so she took her to a nearby Health Centre for medical examination. The results from the check-up showed that Joan was not only pregnant but also HIV/AIDS positive. On confrontation by Joan’s mother, Alfred intimidated the family and warned them off reminding them that he was a witch doctor, and this filled them with fear of what could happen.

The family later heard about the work AAIU was doing in their village and Joan’s mother immediately reported the case to the office on a partner organization where an Activista, Ojok Owidi supported them in gathering evidence, documenting and took lead with support from Local Council Chairpersons and the local police.

Alfred was later arrested, charged, and remanded to Gulu Central Prison and the case is currently in the Gulu Magistrate’s Court for hearing where he is required to report. The next hearing for Alfred is scheduled for January 2021.

While Alfred has not been convicted of defilement, his arrest and remand presents an important step in bringing justice to Joan.