Africa
Uganda court charge couple for child trafficking
A US couple detained in Uganda since December on suspicion of torturing a 10-year-old boy in their care was granted bail on Wednesday by a Kampala court.
Nicholas Spencer, 32, and his wife Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer, 32, both from South Carolina, were initially charged with aggravated torture and aggravated child trafficking to a boy they fostered and were living within Kampala.
According to their lawyer, David Mpanga, they have also been charged with overstaying a visa and working without a permit since their arrest.
The offense of aggravated torture of a child in Uganda carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The couple, who lived in Kampala in 2017 has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
In their bail application, the couple said they had medical conditions which could not be adequately treated while in jail.
On Wednesday the court’s judge, Isaac Muwata, agreed, saying their conditions could not be reasonably treated while in prison.
He ordered them to pay cash bail of 50 million Ugandan shillings ($13,000) each and prohibited them from leaving the country.
Prosecutors have accused the couple of having recruited, transported, and kept the child through “abuse of a position of vulnerability for purposes of exploitation”, according to the charge sheet.
The date of their trial has not been set yet.
