The Buganda Road Court has not granted bail to an American Couple that was captured on video torturing a foster child.
According to Grade One Magistrate Sarah Tusiime Bashaija, the couple has been living in Uganda illegally since their documents expired.
The accused Mackenzie Leing Spencer and her husband Nicholas Spencer both residents of Naguru Hill, Nakawa Division in Kampala were arrested earlier this month on torture charges, after one an anonymous employee recorded a video revealing how the couple punished the minor under unclear circumstances.
In the video, the minor is seen sitting on a cold tiled floor naked for long hours, lying on a bed without a mattress while the couple monitors his movements using an installed camera.
The employee told police that the couple harassed only one of their three adopted children on grounds that he is stubborn and mentally derailed.
The ruthless couple was consequently remanded to Luzira by the presiding Grade One Magistrate Sarah Tusiime Bashaija.
They again appeared before the same court on Tuesday for the hearing of their bail application, however, the State slapped new charges of aggravated trafficking against an American couple, remanding them further.
The prosecution alleges that the couple between 2020 and 2022 at their residence in Naguru, recruited, transported maintained, and tortured a vulnerable ten-year-old boy contrary to the provisions of the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act 2009.
The accused persons could not plead to the charges because they can only be tried in the International Crimes Division of the High Court.
The Chief Magistrate, Sarah Tusiime further remanded the couple to Luzira prison until 18th January 2023.
The fostered children are currently under Police care until another home is found.
If found guilty of the offences, the couple could serve a life sentence in prison as prescribed in the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture act 2012.