InsiderBLM Africa
An American couple who were detained in December for torturing the 10-year-old child in their care was granted bail by a Ugandan court, according to their lawyer, who spoke to AFP on Thursday.
Nicholas and Mackenzie Spencer, both 32, are expected to stand trial for “aggravated child trafficking” and “aggravated torture” committed against the young boy between December 2020 and December 2022, according to court documents seen by AFP.
The couple was detained in December as a result of a tip from the child’s nanny, who attended school at a facility for children with disabilities. “Repeated inhuman and inappropriate treatment,” according to the nurse, was reported.
In addition to facing charges of “torture” and “trafficking” in children, both of which carry life sentences in prison, they are also charged with remaining in Uganda after their visas had expired.
The couple was being held in a maximum security facility outside of Kampala, where they vigorously deny all allegations.
Judge Isaac Muwata temporarily freed the couple after a bail hearing on Wednesday in exchange for a bond of 50 million Ugandan shillings (12,000 euros) and the delivery of their passports to the Ugandan government, according to the couple’s attorney David Mpanga, who spoke to AFP.
The couple explained to the judge that they both had a rare illness that the Ugandan prison system was unable to adequately treat. The magistrate approved releasing the couple from custody so they could receive treatment.
Investigators discovered evidence, specifically demonstrating that the child slept on a “wooden platform, without a mattress,” during their arrest in December.
The boy was one of the couple’s three young charges. Children adopted internationally have sparked debate in Uganda.
Authorities in the United States sued and imposed economic sanctions on an adoption agency with U.S. headquarters in 2020 for placing non-orphan children with American families.
