THE RELENTLESS PERSECUTION OF VICTORIA KABATOREINE: A WOMAN’S STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE

Victoria Kabatoreine’s life has been marked by a relentless cycle of arrests, intimidation, and fear—beginning as early as 2014. Her story paints a disturbing picture of how the justice system can be manipulated by power dynamics at the community level, often at the expense of the vulnerable. Her first brush with the law came in 2014 when she was imprisoned at Nyamityobora Police Post. Police, allegedly acting in connivance with local village leaders, targeted her in what would become a pattern of harassment.

Later that same year, she was re-arrested and charged with attempted murder of a neighbor charges she has always denied. She was detained at the Central Police Station (CPS) in Mbarara. In 2017, Victoria faced yet another arrest, this time allegedly for damaging a neighbor’s veranda. Just a year later, in 2018, she was once again accused of attempted murder. Though threatened with severe consequences, she was fortunate to be represented and eventually rescued by a legal aid lawyer. But her ordeals didn’t end there. In January 2024, she was arrested once more ironically, after she went to the police to report a land dispute involving individuals attempting to take over her property. Instead of protecting her rights, the police charged her with malicious damage to property. She faithfully reported to court as required, but the harassment continued. In December 2024, she was again arrested this time for allegedly assaulting a man.

On May 8, 2025, when she visited the police station to consult on her previous case, she was detained yet again and charged with another assault case this one involving Mayanja Abdul, the same case for which she had been violently arrested in a now-viral video dated December 12, 2024. Victoria now lives in constant fear for her life. She shares a modest home with her 99-year-old mother, both of them enduring immense emotional and psychological distress. Her repeated arrests often under questionable circumstances highlight a justice system that too often fails the very people it is meant to protect. As her legal battles continue, so does her fight not just for her freedom, but for the right to live in peace and dignity. Victoria appeals for support from everyone and protection against her well connected persecutors including those from Statehouse and police

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