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Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage accessed by the police has laid bare the gruesome torture an American couple, Nicholas and Mackenzie Spencer continuously subjected to their adopted son John Kayima Spencer.
The Spencers came to Uganda in 2017 and first stayed in Jinja town. Police have established that Kayima was fostered from Welcome Ministries Jinja in 2018 and the couple shifted with him to Kampala in 2020. The couple also adopted two other children whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Police arrested the couple a fortnight ago after neighbours in Naguru I parish and teachers at Don Children Centre –Ntinda secretly alerted police officers that Kayima was being subjected to inhumane treatment by his adopted parents.
The whistleblowers told police that Kayima was being served cold food straight from the fridge, kept naked during the daytime and forced to sleep on a bare piece of wood at the night. Detectives from CID plus child and family protection unit (CFPU) personnel stormed the couple’s home and found the boy naked – exactly as reported by the whistleblowers.
Police left the home with the CCTV footage which has been reviewed and confirmed almost everything as recounted by neighbours and teachers at school. Police spokesperson, Fred Enanga said the footage of the child’s torture has been shared with the director of public prosecutions (DPP) as evidence for file sanctioning.
In one of the videos, detectives say Kayima would be made to sit in awkward positions with the head facing down as the cameras recorded. In some instances, they would make him stand naked with his hands aloft.
One of the neighbours said he had continuously monitored the couple’s behaviour towards the child for more than a year, while the school had observed and interacted with the child for also close to a year until they resolved that it was time to put a stop on the mistreatment of an innocent child.
Police have asked parents, guardians and local leaders to always follow up on the condition of the children adopted by both local and foreign persons.
Source: The Observer