KOBOKO, UGANDA: A family in Ajugi village, Ludara sub-county, Koboko district is threatening to revive a case against Fr. Edward Eguma, the indicted priest of Arua Diocese for child neglect.
They accuse the priest of failing to provide child support to the mother of his son, Florence Idede. Last year, Fr. Edward Eguma made news headlines when he was dragged to the child and family protection unit at Arua Central Police Station for child neglect.
According to Idede, Eguma has not been providing any support for their child ever since she returned from Arua city a year ago. Idede, a former S3 student of Logiri Girls Secondary School in Arua district, says she has been brewing local waragi, which she sells to get money to provide for her child.
Idede’s father, Francis Lemeriga accuses Fr. Eguma of misbehaving after pledging to support the child. According to Lemeriga, they will not hesitate to report the matter to relevant authorities for redress.
Eguma’s case first came into the limelight in 2021 after he allegedly asked Idede’s landlord to throw her out of the house he rented for her in Onduparaka trading center, a suburb of Arua city.
The landlord advised Idede to report the matter, which opened a case number SD REF 45/22/02/2021 at Arua central police station. However, the case didn’t proceed to court.
Eguma denied the allegations of child neglect when contacted on phone noting that he hadn’t been informed about the sickness of the child.
Jimmy Anguyo, the West Nile region child and family protection unit officer says police are not aware of the concerns since they haven’t received any information from the concerned family.
He advised the family to report the matter to the police for further investigation. Before his suspension, Fr. Eguma was a curate at Nyadri town catholic parish in Maracha district, under Arua Diocese.
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