KAMPALA – Kabarole Woman Member of Parliament Sylvia Rwabwogo has said the a 25-year-old student, who was last week sentenced to two years in prison for sending her love messages, was being used by some selfish individuals in a mission to lure her with love and kill her.
In a message posted on her Facebook wall on Sunday, the MP insisted that whereas the public has come out to judge and condemn her for taking stern action against the student, Brian Isiko had been sent by her enemies trap and kill her.
“Dear friends, colleagues and supporters, before you go on judging me and scolding me, I want to let you know that there’s more than meets the eye in all this saga that has turned out to be a national issue. What most of you regard as mere love messages should know that this was not just love messages. This boy was being used by some selfish individuals in a mission to lure me with love and kill me,” the MP’s message reads in part.
Ms Rwabwogo also claimed that former Butaleja Woman MP Cerinah Nebanda was trapped and poisoned in such way.
“I endured fear and suffering due to those who sent Brian to trap and kill me. Nebanda was killed in such a way. I didn’t have to wait to be killed, as a precautionary measure I had to seek the solace of authorities to protect myself, my family and constituents from horror,” she added.
Following the court sentence, the public came out to condemn the MP for seemingly punishing a potential lover yet a few months ago, she had appeared in one of the local print newspapers, claiming she was searching for a lover.
However, Ms Rwabogo said: “If it was for love, I have had many even those younger than Brian and much older, but this was none like other with intentions to harm me. Let’s see how the authorities handle the situation. I call upon fellow Ugandans to be vigilant at all times, we cannot go on dying like animals. Vigilance is key.”
Mr. Isiko pleaded guilty to charges of cyber harassment and offensive communication before Buganda Road Magistrate Ms Gladys Kamasanyu on Thursday July 05.
Isiko confessed that the calls and text messages professing passionate love to the MP he had never physically seen were from him.
“I have had the benefit to listen to both the complainant and the convict. He (Isiko) kept laughing all through the session. This is a demeanor of a person who is not remorseful. At some points the complainant broke down. This kind of harassment can only be done by a selfish person and the intentions are only known to him,” Ms Kamasanyu ruled before sentencing him.
She sentenced him to two-years on the count of cyber harassment and to nine-months for offensive communication – both sentences to run concurrently.
Ms Rwabwogo told court that started getting these love messages and calls from a stranger a head of the controversial Constitution Amendment Bill that was passed in December to remove presidential age limits which made her think that someone wanted to hurt her.
Court heard that the MP received many calls and over 10 messages, one time her stalker texted asserting that he had failed to sleep at night just thinking about her and around the same time the wave of kidnaps were so rampant.
She said she set up an appointment to meet the stalker upon Police at Parliament assigning her a guard. The meeting was on June 11, 2018, they met at Java House, Lugogo a Kampala suburb and indeed the stalker showed up and from there he was arrested
