Police have arrested one Emmanuel Ayeni, a teacher at Brain Trust primary in Jinja district for eloping with his former primary seven pupils.
Residents allegedly noticed Ayeni living with the 14-year-old girl in the staff quarters and tipped off the police.
Swaibu Aboneka the victim’s father says that he reported a case of a missing person at Buweera police post-Buwenge sub-county when the school administrators informed him that his daughter had gone missing after completing her Primary Leaving Examinations-PLE.
“My child did not return to us after successfully sitting her PLE in late in March this year. Ayeni was part of the teachers who even paid me a courtesy call at home after all efforts to track down the girl failed” he said.
According to the girl’s father, he also made several radio announcements with the hope of finding his missing daughter without success. However, Scovia Namuli, a resident of Buwera west village, says they thought that Ayeni was a good Samaritan looking after a stranded child.
“His colleagues informed us that the girl got stranded at school after PLE and Ayeni was just a good Samaritan. None of us suspected him to be involved in mischievous behaviors,” Namuli said.
The area defence secretary Pande Samanya, says that Ayeni was restricting the girl’s movements but after continuous probing, she confessed to having become a wife of her former teacher.
Ayeni is currently detained at Buwenge central police station. James Mubi the Kiira Region Police spokesperson says that the victim is being examined by medical experts to ascertain the state of her health and mental wellbeing.
The suspect faces charges of aggravated defilement.
