Police in Kampala Metropolitan, charged two foster parents, of American origin, to Buganda Road Court last Friday, with the aggravated torture of their 10-year-old son, and they were remanded to Luzira prison until December 14.
According to the police, Nicholas Spencer, 32, and his wife Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer, also 32, came to Uganda in 2017 and started working with the Akola Project, based in Jinja.
They then fostered three children, including Kayima John, in 2018 through the Welcome Ministry, in Jinja City.
The suspects moved with their children to Upper Naguru, where they have been staying together.
However, realised that between the year, 2020 and December 2022, the couple constantly tortured, a one Kayima John, a 10-year-old pupil of Dawn Children’s Center in Ntinda, which attracted the attention of neighbours.
“They alerted the police at Kira Road Division and investigations commenced. Our team of investigators established, that the couple kept the victim barefoot, and naked throughout the day, would occasionally make him squat in an awkward position, with his head facing the floor and hands spread out widely, he spent his nights on a wooden platform, without a mattress or beddings and was served cold meals from the fridge,” said the police.
The police believe that the victim could have endured more severe acts of torture, away from the camera.