Ugandan pastor Joseph Collins Twahirwa of Epikaizo Ministries International in Bugoloobi has been remanded to Luzira prison on charges of raping a Latvian female tourist.
After being frustrated by police at both Jinja Road and the CID, 36-year-old Latvian tourist Saulite Anda’s plight was made public by a local newspaper.
The court has been told that Collins, who works as both a pastor and a lawyer, had sex with Anda against her will on December 12, 2022, at his home in Munyonyo Zone in Kampala.
In her testimony at CID, Anda claimed that Collins had invited her to Uganda after they had met through TikTok.
She was picked up by Collins’ security team on December 11, 2022, but instead of taking her to a reserved apartment at Makindye, they took her to her tormentor’s house in Munyonyo.
The victim, a mother of two, claimed that while she was there, the pastor not only stole her money but also had carnal knowledge of her and told her he wanted to have a child with her.
Anda continued to tell police that she was taken to her Air BNB in Makindye after the rape incident and that she was left there without any money to survive. She was later advised by her neighbors to report the matter to the police.
Ritah Neumbe Kidasa, the chief magistrate of Nakawa Court, explained to Twahirwa that he cannot plead to the charges of rape because the lower court lacks the authority to try capital offenses.
He was then remanded to Luzira Prison.