This American couple is looking at a death penalty in Uganda for “continuously torturing” and trafficking one out of their three foster children from a Christian ministry.
According to the Daily Monitor, Nicholas Spencer and his wife Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer, both aged 32, pleaded not guilty last week following their arrest on December 9 in the capital city of Kampala.
It has been reported that their neighbors were the individuals who reported the alleged torture to the authorities.
An American couple relocated to an East African nation in 2017, where they adopted three children, according to police reports.
The couple had relocated to the East African country in 2017 for humanitarian work, and adopted three children a year later from the Welcome Ministry in Jinja City.
According to cops and local media, among the three children was a 10-year-old boy who was HIV-positive and attended a special needs school.
The Ugandan authorities stated that the Spencer family engaged in persistent torture of the child beginning in 2020, which drew the attention of nearby residents, some of whom even recorded the incidents, as reported by the media outlet.
Nicholas Spencer and his wife, Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer, pleaded not guilty after they were charged with child torture of a 10-year-old boy in their care while living in a Kampala suburb. A Ugandan state prosecutor said the couple were a flight risk https://t.co/ZhXA97xnv9 pic.twitter.com/FZGnTwE4pz
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 15, 2022
Foster parents are placed on special needs children, according to authorities.
According to the Monitor, the authorities stated that the couple compelled the boy to remain barefoot and naked throughout the day, and at times forced him to sit in an awkward position with his head facing the floor and his hands spread out widely.
According to police, the child was also forced to sleep on a wooden platform without any bedding or mattress, and was solely fed cold meals. It was noted that he could have endured more severe acts of torture away from the camera.
The Daily Monitor quoted a caregiver who told police that the child was singled out by foster parents, who accused him of being mentally unstable, hyperactive, and stubborn.
“I wanted to leave the job, but I knew if I left without doing something about it, the torture would continue,” the caregiver reportedly said.
The couple pleads not guilty to torture and additional charges of child trafficking, which carry the death penalty.
They have pleaded not guilty to the initial allegations of aggravated torture, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
On Tuesday, the couple were also charged with aggravated child trafficking, which carries the death penalty in Uganda.
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According to the arrest report, the Spencer family recruited, transported, and kept the child via abuse of position of vulnerability for purposes of exploitation.
They appeared in a magistrate’s court on Tuesday, but were unable to make a plea on the new charges as they cannot be heard by the High Court. They were remanded to Luzia Prison, a maximum security facility.
As of Thursday, a date for the High Court hearing has not been scheduled.
Couple’s attorney claims that cops have no evidence, calling the case a ‘Fishing Expedition.
The couple’s attorney attempted to defend them, claiming authorities didn’t have any proof and describing the case as a “fishing expedition,” according to the Monitor.
“Last time we were in court, the state said that inquiries are complete and yet today they added a new charge and said that inquiries are ongoing,” she told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“It doesn’t make sense.”
.@FredEnanga1: The Kampala Metropolitan Police managed to charge two American foster parents with aggravated torture of a ten-year-old foster son called Kayima John Spencer. The suspects were identified as Nicholas Spencer and his wife, Mackenzie Spencer.#NBSUpdates pic.twitter.com/0c9mwQu8at
— NBS Television (@nbstv) December 12, 2022
The Spencers’ lawyer pleaded with the court to grant them bail, citing unspecified health issues that prevented them from receiving adequate care while imprisoned.
Bail Application Denied As Prosecutors Call Couple A Flight Risk, U.S Embassy Monitoring Situation
The prosecutors claimed there were no ailments that couldn’t be treated in Uganda’s prison system, denying their bail application.
Meanwhile, the Spencers were also denied bail due to being a flight risk, prosecutors said, calling their “likelihood to abscond from bail… really, really high.”
“They have no community or family ties in Uganda, and the offense with which they are charged currently is of grave nature attracting a penalty of life imprisonment, therefore their likelihood to abscond from bail is really, really high,” prosecutor Joan Keko told the court.
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