Ntungamo college principal arrested for sexually harassing female students

NTUNGAMO, UGANDA: The Principal of Ntungamo Comprehensive College, Mr. Gaston Twesigye is under police custody on allegations of sexually harassing his female students, the regional police confirmed Thursday afternoon.

Rwizi Regional Police spokesperson, ASP Samson Kasasira confirmed Twesigye’s arrest saying they were supposed to arraign him in the Ntungamo Chief Magistrates Court Thursday evening.

“The principal was arrested on September 22 from the RDC’s office where he had gone to respond to the allegations. The RDC ordered his arrest after finding out that he was a habitual sexual harasser. We have since preferred sexual harassment charges against him ahead of his arraignment in court,” he told the Monitor on Thursday morning.

Twesigye’s arrest followed a series of complaints from female students pinning him for demanding sexual favours in return for administrative privileges.

Natukunda Ronah, one of the victims who opened up the matter to police authorities said Mr Twesigye, intentionally failed in the UBTEB exams by refusing to submit some of her results after she refused to give in to his sexual demands.

Ms Natukunda narrates that the principal would on several occasions ask her to meet him in private places as late as 10pm or to come to his office in the evening hours if she wanted to check her examination results.

“One day he chased me out of the examination room claiming I had fees balance that I needed to first clear. It took the intervention of some lecturers for him to allow me in, an hour later,” she said.

“I spent a year at the college without being able to see my own examination results apart from being told by friends since it was a college practice for students to get their results personally from their lecturers. When I would go for mine, he would tell me to come in the evening which was a bit tricky,” she said.

She added that apart from denying his victims examination results, he would give them heavy punishment like cleaning all the toilets once they did not give him what he wanted.

Ms Nankunda, like several other students, reported the issue to police after their final results came out and they had several retakes.

However, Mr Twesigye in his defence claims that this is a deliberate plan by his competitors to fail him.

“I do not know what these girls are saying. I know someone must have used them just to tarnish my name because I cannot do something like that,” he said Thursday.

Ntungamo RDC Mr. Geofrey Mucunguzi said many of Twesigye’s former students came to his office reporting similar cases and some had the evidence.

“Twesigye has been harassing female students who refuse to sleep with him and it has been his habit. Many of his former students have testified against him, some recorded while extending sexual advances and they have that evidence,” he said.