THREE women have been arrested after they attempted to bribe police officers in a bid to secure the release of their husband, who was arrested for allegedly defiling their 10-year-old daughter.
Among the arrested women is the mother of the 10-year-old victim.
The women reportedly requested that their husband, the accused in the case, be released from police custody and that their daughter be surrendered to the government for adoption by any family willing to care for her.
This incident follows the arrest of their 40-year-old husband for allegedly defiling their daughter, who was later found to be HIV positive.
In a statement, police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga said that on March 27, Kabwata Police Station received a report from the One-Stop Center at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).
He explained that the report detailed how a 43-year-old mother had taken her daughter, aged 10 and a Grade Three pupil at a named school, to the center for a medical check-up.
“During the medical examination, doctors discovered that the victim was HIV positive and subsequently conducted interviews,” Mr Hamoonga said.
“It was during these interviews that grievous allegations of incest emerged, implicating the victim’s biological father as having sexually abused her. Following this information, Kabwata Police responded promptly and apprehended the suspect,” he added.
Mr Hamoonga said the victim has since been placed in the safety of a designated safe home, while the perpetrator remains in custody.
He further said a medical report signed by attending personnel corroborates that the victim was sexually defiled.
And Mr Hamoonga said on April 4, at around 10:00 hours, Kabwata Police Station received an unusual and highly unethical request from three wives of the accused man.
“The women visited Kabwata Police Station and requested that their husband, who is accused of sexually abusing their 10-year-old daughter, be released from custody. They also asked that their daughter be surrendered to the government for adoption by any family willing to care for her,” Mr Hamoonga said.
He added that this request was made both verbally and in written form, signed by all three women.
“What is even more alarming is that the trio attempted to bribe officers from the Victim Support Unit (VSU) with a sum of K4, 808.00 in an effort to influence the release of the accused,” he said.
Mr Hamoonga confirmed that the money has since been seized as evidence and that all three women have been detained and charged with compounding a felony and attempting to bribe police officers.
(Mwebantu, Friday, 4th April, 2025)