Police say they have identified the suspects behind a now viral TikTok video in which a group of about four suspects are captured flogging a half-naked teenage girl.
Luke Owoyesigyire, the Kampala Metropolitan deputy police spokesperson says the victim’s mother has filed a complaint and that a statement from the girl has been recorded.
He revealed that the 14-year-old girl was kept in custody at a police station in Kawempe as she presented with signs of psychological torture and they were concerned she could inflict harm on herself. Owoyesigyire says they are hunting for the victim’s tormentors who were last seen in Kira division, Wakiso district.
In the video that was first posted on TikTok, a group of about three girls and a man are seen questioning the victim on allegations that she was trying to “steal” one of her friends’ man.
One of her friends said to be the lover of the said man is seen slapping the victim before the others joined in the mob attack with sticks as someone recorded the incident that has been widely condemned, with several lawyers offering to help the girl.
“Upon physical examination, we realised that she was in too much pain and she needed to be examined by a surgeon to classify the injuries she had on her body. It’s against that background that we agreed with her parents to keep her at our shelter as we await the examination of the surgeon,” Owoyesigyire said.
It is alleged that on the day she was beaten, she had been called by one of her friends to go and help her with something at her home.
“Only to get home and a group of different girls pounced on her, beat her up, and stripped her naked as seen in the video. We have recorded her statement and also gotten the names of the suspects in the video and our efforts are underway to have them arrested,” Owoyesigyire added.
The territorial police of Kawempe are expected to hand over the file to the police in Kira Division, the jurisdiction where the mob attack happened.
