Acid Attacks on The Rise in Uganda

In Uganda, issues of love, marriage and relationships have become increasingly acidic and many beautiful couples are losing their beauties to acid attacks. I know in any relationship, conflicts, jealousy, jilt or even divorce are some of the negative forces anybody going in for a love affair must be prepared to face. However, in Uganda, it appears many people fall in love without factoring these negative aspects of love and when things begin to fall apart, they resort to destructive measures against their lovers.

The incidences of Acid attacks have permeated our urban societies so much that I wonder weather the whole thing of falling in love makes sense any more. Very recently, an Association of Victims of Acid Attack was formed in my city Kampala. The common features and eligibility for membership to this Association is that one must have been attacked and burnt by acid. At one of its General Assembly meetings, which was extensively covered by the Media, Ugandans for the very first time came to terms with the magnitude of this problem. Men and women who were extremely beautiful and handsome had been reduced to a mass of disfigured human beings who are either blinded or too scary to function in society.

A story of one particularly beautiful young woman was especially, very moving. She was a progressive Personal Secretary in a reputable Organization in Kampala. Her husband lost his job and was a stay at home hubby, looking after their beautiful baby girl. All went on well until the man started blaming his wife for not having time with him. He detested the late home coming from office by his wife and he never liked the work related trips she made every weekend. One evening, she was dropped home by her driver after a long office work. Her husband was drunk and alone in the living room. She passed him by without a word and went to shower. As she walked from the shower room back to her bedroom in a towel, her husband confronted her and poured acid directly onto her beautiful face. She was completely disfigured and blinded. Today, you look at her disfigured face and her beautiful former face and you will probably shed a tear or so.

That was just one case of a love related acid attack. Many Ugandans, both men and women have tales to tell regarding acid attacks. Some lovers who may have been jilted just hire attackers to target their lovers with concentrated acids. The sense of loss ad degree of depression that comes with acid attacks is usually very hard to bear! Many commit suicide while others disappear from public life.

The Government of Uganda is coming up with laws that are specific to acid attacks. We hope this will fully address the problem in the long run.