A couple from the U.S. moved to Uganda to become foster parents. Now, they could face the death penalty in a child torture case.
Former congressional staffer Nicholas Spencer, and his wife Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer, a healthcare consultant, quit their jobs in D.C. and left the United States in 2017 to move to Uganda to become foster parents and begin their "humanitarian work" in East Africa. Who would have thought that they would make the international headlines five years later not for their works but for child torture charges, Andrea Blanco of The Independent reported.
The couple has been arrested and is now held at a Ugandan maximum security prison on charges of aggravated torture and child trafficking.
Both are accused of cruel punishments to their 10-year-old foster child, saying it was due to the child's stubbornness, hyperactive behavior, and unstable mental condition.
Police statement
According to the facts gathered by the Uganda Police Force, Nicholas and Mackenzie, both 32 years old, fostered three children, including Kayima John, in 2018 from Welcome Ministry in Jinja City, Uganda. The couple moved to Upper Naguru with their children when they joined a certain Motive Creation Agency.
The investigation found that between 2020 and December 2022, the couple "constantly tortured" Kayima John, a student of Dawn Children's Center in Ntinda, which drew the attention of the neighbors.
The latter then alerted the police, which started the investigation.
"Our team of investigators established, that the couple kept the victim barefoot, and naked throughout the day, would occasionally make him squat in an awkward position, with his head facing the floor and hands spread out widely, he spent his nights on a wooden platform, without a mattress or beddings and was served cold meals from the fridge. We believe, the victim could have endured more severe acts of torture, away from the camera," the authorities wrote in a statement.
Close monitoring of foster kids
Further, the Ugandan prosecutors stated that the boy the Spencers deprived in every manner was reportedly HIV positive.
The police added that the foster parents kept the boy through "abuse of position of vulnerability for purposes of exploitation," as per the Daily Monitor.
During a court hearing Wednesday, the state prosecutor declared that if the Spencers are found guilty and convicted of the charges of child abuse and trafficking, they can be penalized with death.
According to Reuters, the attorney of the couple dismissed the accusations, informing the local media that the case was a mere "fishing expedition" by the prosecutors.
The Uganda Police Force, however, expressed their gratitude to the people who helped with the investigation - neighbors, teachers, and even the victim himself. According to the authorities, they have bravely stood up against acts of child abuse and torture.
They also remind all probation offices and social workers to consistently and continuously monitor the well-being of children placed in foster homes so that the kids can be protected from abusive parents and other possible harm and dangers.
They stressed that if there had been close and consistent monitoring, Kayima John could have been saved from torture for the past two years.
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