A Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) soldier on mission from Somalia has been arrested for sexually assaulting his own daughter, a 17-year-old resident of Kira Municipality, Wakiso District.

While speaking to journalists on July 1, 2024, at the Police Headquarters in Naguru, ASP Luke Owoyesigyire, the Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson, identified the suspect as Brazil Okwang.

According to Owoyesigyire, on June 24, 2024, Okwang, who was guarding a construction site, called his daughter for a visit to the premises.

“The victim alleges that her biological father, Okwang Brazil, who was guarding a construction site, called her for a visit at the premises to stay in the same tent. While they were sleeping, Okwang started to touch the daughter; she made an alarm, which attracted members of the public, who helped her reach the police,” Owoyesigyire said.

Owoyesigyire said that they managed to recover a gun, including three magazines, from him and handed him over to the authorities.

He added that the crime of taking advantage of children, especially females, by parents and guardians is on the rise.

In July 2023, a UPDF soldier was arrested for allegedly defiling and impregnating his own 15-year-old daughter, and on May 19, 2022, another related incident occurred in Wakiso District where another soldier, whose name was not disclosed, lured his 5-year-old child to an incomplete building, claiming that he was going to bathe her, and ended up defiling her.