Woman committed to high court for 'stealing' shop attendant's kidney

The magistrates court in Nakawa has committed a businesswoman to the High Court in Kampala for trial for stealing a kidney belonging to her shop attendant.

She had been charged with aggravated human trafficking for hiring her shop attendant into donating his kidney to save her husband.

Miria Rwigambwa who operates in Mbarara is accused by Brain Arinaitwe of using means of deception to organise,facilitate and prepare him to travel to India for removal of his body part.

According to evidence by the prosecution, following a strike in March 2013 involving Ntare and Mbarara High School students, among the students affected by the tear gas was the accused’s son Michael Arinda who was rescued by the victim (Arinaitwe).

It is further alleged that due to his kindness, Arinaitwe was welcomed to Rwigamba's family before he was later offered a job of being a shop attendant in their hardware shop.

A few months on the work, Arinaitwe was approached to donate a kidney to her boss' sick husband.

“The accused knowing she had control over the victim lured him with hefty rewards which included part of the family's arcade in Mbarara, a plot at Makenke and another one with an incomplete building in Katete in Mbarara Municipality in return for the kidney donation although no written agreement to this effect was made,” reads in part the evidence by the state.

It is alleged that the victim consented to donating his left kidney to the accused’s husband and was taken to Mulago hospital Kampala and Aghakan hospital in Nairobi for blood and nuclei testing to establish his suitability as a donor.

Results would later turn out positive before processing of travel documents was embarked on and in the process she forged Arinaitwe’s birth certificate with serial number 6081 and a citizenship verification form B with serial number 235720.

The accused later facilitated the victim,husband and her step son to travel to Apollo hospital in India for a kidney transplant but the husband died after the transplant.

Rwigambwa would now turn against Arinaitwe accusing him of killing her husband.

This prompted Arinaitwe to report the matter to police and on medical examination,it was found out that he didn't have a left kidney.

According to prosecution,the suspect intended to steal Arinaitwe's kidney through deception.

Nakawa grade one magistrate Noah Ssajjabi committed the matter to High Court for trial to begin.