Dr Eron Lawrence, a former senior lecturer at Kyambogo University has been remanded to Luzira prison on accusations of defiling a visually impaired 16-year-old girl and infecting her with HIV/Aids last year.
The 56-year-old has been on the run after jumping police bond on December 12, 2023. Eron was a gem on disability in Uganda and coordinated several projects. His vast experience as a consultant in inclusive education saw him rise through various ranks at Kyambogo.
With a PhD from the University of Oslo in Norway, he was a respected senior lecturer, dean faculty of Special Needs and Rehabilitation, and initiated and chaired the Institutional Disability Policy for Kyambogo. At the time of the incident, he was the project administrator for “All We See is a Possibility” at Kyambogo University, and the victim was one of the beneficiaries of the programme.
Police previously put a Shs 10 million bounty on whoever could arrest Eron after he was summoned to appear in vain. On Thursday night this week, he surprisingly presented himself to the criminal investigations directorate (CID), and yesterday Friday, he was subsequently remanded until July 17 by Nakawa chief magistrate Christine Nantege who didn't allow him to plead to the charges against them because they are capital in nature and can only be tried by the High court.
It is alleged that the suspect travelled as a caretaker with four students including the victim to Nairobi-Kenya, for a conference. The group returned to the country on October 12, 2023. The first two students from Gulu University were reportedly dropped off at Namayiba taxi park while the third student disembarked at North Hall, Kyambogo University.
Eron reportedly drove together with the victim from around 10.20 pm, up to Namugongo-Nsawo village, Kira municipality. According to police, along the way, the victim requested for water, which was bought at a supermarket along Ndagire road, in Naalya. The victim reportedly fell unconscious after taking the water.
Upon gaining consciousness, she felt some pain around her genitals and realized she had been sexually assaulted. It is suspected that sexual assault took place in the car. The following morning her maternal uncle, drove her back to her school in Mukono and she revealed her ordeal to the senior woman teacher, who alerted the school head teacher, and the matter was reported to Mukono police.
According to the police, the victim was put on post-rape treatment, and the DNA samples recovered from the suspect's car, a Toyota Wish, registration number, UBA 349Z, matched with the samples found on the body of the victim.