A 16-year-old student, Evelyn Namasopo, has narrated how she was accosted by a 25-year-old machete-wielding man who cut off her hand after she resisted his attempt to rape her.

The senior two Ugandan student told Chief Magistrate James Mawanda, during a session at Bubulo Magistrate’s Court in Manafwa District on Wednesday, April 7, that the suspect Derrick Kuloba attacked her near a forest on her way home to pick beddings and food for her sick mother who had been admitted in a hospital.

“He (Kuloba) started ordering me to undress and when I refused he pulled out a machete and started cutting me. He wanted to cut my head but I tried to guard it with my right hand,” she told the court during the hearing of a case in which Kuloba is accused of attempted murder.

Evelyn said she raised an alarm hoping to get help but in vain, adding that she’s still experiencing a lot of pain

The victim accused police and Mbale Court of trying to frustrate her case because Kuloba was released under unclear circumstances a few days after his arrest.

“I need justice from this court because I’m now disabled. I’m not able to do any day-to-day activities like I used to. I can’t even write,” she explained.

The prosecution told the court that Kuloba, a resident of Nabooti Village, Nakatsi Sub-County in Bududa District, on July 4, 2020, armed with a machete, waylaid the victim and attacked her before chopping off her right hand in a botched rape

The student also sustained several injuries on other parts of the body. The prosecution presented three witnesses; the victim, her cousin and uncle.

In her testimony, the girl further asked the court to give Kuloba a harsh punishment.

The case was adjourned to April 8, 2021, when the prosecution is expected to present more witnesses in court.

Her mother, Ms Juliet Khainza said: “We had waited for this case to start but in vain. I want my daughter to get justice.”

Ms Khainza asked the suspect to foot her daughter’s medical bills, pending judgment, saying her family could no longer afford her medication.

Ms Khainza asked the suspect to foot the victim’s medical bills, pending judgment, saying her family had become financially handicapped.