By Michael Atwakiire
Sheema: Annet Brenda Katookye Mushabe, who is aspiring for the District Woman Member of Parliament (MP) is in hot soup over allegations that she assaulted her maid, whom she suspected to be too close for comfort with her husband .
Shiphrah Asimire, 23 years old, resident of Kibaruko village, Kyepitsi in Shuuku town council, Sheema District, who holds a diploma holder in Public Administration and Management from Ankole Western University, accuses Mushabe of allegedly locking her inside a vehicle and beating her terribly, plus squeezing her neck, which left her with injuries.
Asimire said that she was connected to Mushabe by the Chairman LC one of her village (Kibaruko) six months ago whereby they agreed that she (Mushabe) was going to give her a job worthy her qualifications.
“She was in our village looking for votes where she met a group of people and while addressing them, she talked about giving jobs to youths. Our Chairman LC one told her to give me a job if she could. Then I later connected with Mushabe and she told me that she could easily get me a job of my qualifications,” Asimire said.
“She told me to go and stay with her in Masaka, to do house work. When I reached, there she told me to work in her bakery business as I did house work like washing, cooking and others, at a salary of Shs100,000. Unfortunately after the month, she paid me 80,000 only, but I accepted because I had hopes that she would give me a job in line with my profession, which never happened, ” Asimire added.
She said that when she saw there was no indication of getting a job yet she was being mistreated by Mushabe, she decided to alert her parents and Chairman LC one about her situation. That she got shocked one Monday morning at around 8:00Am when her boss Mushabe told her to pack all her things and go home
Asimire narrated that; “She told me that she was taking me home where she had picked me from. Along the way, we reached a certain place and the driver parked the vehicle. She moved out and locked it, as soon as he moved out, Mushabe started squeezing my throat from behind. She bit me on the shoulder, after accusing me of dating her husband.
I shouted a lot because I was feeling too much pain and there were people near the vehicle who heard me shouting and came to see what was happening. They reached the vehicle together with the driver and after entering the car, she went outside with my phone and she spent there a while. I kept pleading with the driver to take me to police but he refused, yet there was no way I could get out because the car was locked. When she returned she told me that she had left my phone at Masaka police station as exhibit of the messages I was exchanging with her husband. She also told me that even Kabwohe police is aware of the offense I had committed.”
She added that; “Remember her husband could only come around when Mushabe was there. He has since spent two months without coming to Masaka. I don’t even have his phone number. The only love messages in my phone are from my lover who stays in Kampala. The good thing is that it’s Mushabe who has my phone. I want her to put that phone at police and we check it together with police in the presence of my parents and she shows us how I have been dating her husband. If she meant my lover doubles as her husband in this case she has two husbands.”
Asimire also revealed that when they reached Rwebikoona, in Mbarara town, she was ordered to offload her luggage and go home, and when she asked for her salary such that she would get transport from Mbarara to Shuuku Sheema, Mushabe said she would pay her in the presence of her parents, which she has never done.
She said that she already gotten the medical form and she is undergoing the treatment.
Tom Kwikiriza, the Chairman LC one Kibaruko village, who is also Mushabe’s friend, told us that;
“After the incident, I contacted Mushabe and recorded her saying that it was a Satan that forced her to assault her maid. When I asked her the root cause for the anger, she told me that Asimire has been dating her husband for a while. When I asked her why she confiscated her phone, she told me that Asimire forgot it in Masaka. However I wasn’t surprised because even Junior’s son passed through mistreatment while at Mushabe’s home until he escaped from there. But I urge bosses to always treat workers as fellow human beings.” Kwikiriza said.
When contacted on phone, Mushabe said that; “I can’t meet you because I know you want to record me, and if you want to ask me about these allegations I hear, don’t disturb yourself because I don’t know anything about it. I know people who are behind it, you’re my friend so whether you write or not it’s up to you. May be I send you airtime,” Mushabe said.
However, when we reached the Sheema Central police station, the DPC and OC CID told us that the girl didn’t file any case against Mushabe, and that there is no case recorded in their books to that effect, although the girl insisted that she filed the case and was even given a medical form and case reference as SD REF 42/05/08/2020.
