Nazziwa's story

 After spending two months in hiding, Nazziwa's husband was arrested and sentenced to ten years.Nazziwa Anette says:

I feel the sentence of ten years is not enough. Heʼll soon be out of jail and will come and harm me again and most likely kill me.

ActionAid Uganda has been involved with Nazziwa's case since it was reported at the Mubende Women's Reception Centre and is supporting her to appeal for a longer sentence.

Annette Nazziwa’s life has, since November 30, 2010 been marked by helplessness and misery.

On that day, the 20-year-old woman from a remote village in Mubende district lost both hands, following a violent attack by her husband, Douglas Ssempijja. Armed with a machete, Ssempijja ambushed Nazziwa in the mid morning hours as she returned from picking coffee beans at her mother’s plantation in Kidongo village, Butoloogo sub-county.

Nazziwa’s mother, Patricia Namatega, was the unfortunate witness as Ssempijja ran amok and brutally chopped off her daughter’s hands.

I raised an alarm, but nobody came to help.

Said 49-year-old Namatega, her eyes welling up.

As Ssempijja descended on Nazziwa, the old woman held firmly onto her granddaughter, Justine Nakasumba, who was just six months old then. After cutting off Nazziwa’s hands and inflicting a deep cut on her face, Ssempijja disappeared into a nearby bush with one of the severed hands.

The attack occurred on an isolated farm, and with nobody coming to their rescue, Namatega was left helpless. Nazziwa lay on ground bleeding profusely. But, the sight of her daughter reeling in great pain pushed Namatega to gather some courage and try to save her life.

She removed the gomesi (traditional Ugandan dress) she was wearing and tore it to pieces, which she wrapped around Nazziwa to stop the bleeding. Hours later, she managed to get her daughter to Mubende district hospital, from where she was referred to Mulago hospital in Kampala.

For two months, Ssempijja was on the run as Nazziwa underwent several surgeries at Mulago. Doctors did everything possible to save her. But recently, Ssempijja’s luck ran out when, on February 5, 2011, more than three months since his barbaric act, the police arrested him.

They found him holed up in nearby Kibaale district, hiding amongst relatives. He pleaded guilty to the charge of attempted murder and, on February 8, Mubende district chief magistrate, Sylvia Nabaggala, sentenced him to 10 years in jail at Kaweeri prison in Mubende.

Light sentence

But Nazziwa, her family and the NGO Actionaid have challenged the sentence handed to the 23-year-old Ssempijja. They argue that 10 years is too light a punishment for Ssempijja, whose violent attack condemned Nazziwa to a lifetime of “disability and helplessness”.

Tracy Carolyne Shemeri, Actionaid’s legal officer in charge of violence against women and girls at the ActionAid Women Reception Centre, said, in severing her hands, Ssempijja took away Nazziwa’s “source of living”, and so he deserves to spend his life behind bars.

There is also fear that at the end of his jail term, Ssempijja, might come back to revenge. Actionaid and local officials have been told that prior to his arrest on February 5, Ssempijja vowed to kill Nazziwa and her family members.

In an interview with journalists on March 3, Nazziwa said she was afraid because there was a strong possibility that Ssempijja could recriminate.

I want him jailed for life because even the LC (local council) officials fear him; no one can protect me from him.

Although she acknowledges that Ssempijja is the father of Justine Nakasumba, her nine-month-old baby girl, Nazziwa rules out any possibility of a reunion.“I’ll never forgive him even if he apologised,” she said.

Nazziwa, who describes Ssempijja as a “mad man”, also attributes his gruesome act to evil spirits (locally known as mayembe), which she claims he acquired in a bid to get wealthy.

Defilement concealed

According to Actionaid officials, Ssempijja eloped with Nazziwa seven years ago, when she was 13 years – a minor – but her parents did not report the matter to the police.

He allegedly paid them to conceal the case, which could have been a defilement offence. Nazziwa had just completed her Primary Leaving Examinations when Ssempijja took her away, and she never returned to school.

Enock Abaine, Mubende District Police Commander (DPC), who visited Butoloogo village as the search for Ssempijja intensified early this year, gathered similar information.

He discovered that Ssempijja had, for several years, battered and tortured Nazziwa, but any complaints to the LC officials would always be dismissed. The young woman bears the marks of torture; ugly scars cover her entire back.

“He used to beat me everyday, but I didn’t expect him to do this to me,” Nazziwa says, looking at the stumps that used be her hands.

In her current state, she has become like a baby. Her mother, Namatega, does everything for her, from feeding to bathing, yet she also has to take care of baby Justine.

It is because of these overwhelming life challenges that Actionaid organised events in Mubende town last week to launch a campaign, codenamed Get lippy about Nazziwa, to highlight her plight.

On March 4, Nazziwa led a match organised by the agency through the town and later, a play was staged at the district headquarters depicting the effects of domestic violence.

There were also several messages from international women activists in support of action against domestic violence. Actionaid organized these events ahead of the International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8, to raise more awareness about domestic violence and the plight of victims of the vice.

Actionaid’s Shemeri said:

Men still abuse their partners with impunity; they know that nothing will happen to them

Ssanyu Kalibbala, communications coordinator at Actionaid, says their latest campaign could go a long way in achieving its goals if Nazziwa’s appeal for a life sentence for Ssempijja succeeds. However, the ‘Get lippy’ campaign requires maximum cooperation from local authorities, the police and other civil society organisations.

Not in vain

The number of cases of domestic violence reported to LCs or the police, especially in rural areas, has increased in the last three years, thanks to women rights campaigns started by NGOs like Actionaid.

In Mubende district alone, for instance, police have recorded 89 cases since December 2010. There were also 32 cases of defilement reported in the same period.

While the police have inadequate resources to handle domestic violence, they have, nevertheless, stepped up their efforts by setting up a child and family protection unit in every district.

Through this unit, Abaine disclosed, police in Mubende have been able to resolve 38 cases out of court. He explained that the unit counsels and reconciles the affected parties.

Alcohol, polygamy, drugs and HIV/AIDS are some of the leading causes of domestic violence in most rural homes, according to a survey conducted by Actionaid. In all cases, the survey concludes, women remain most vulnerable.