A 42-year-old male nurse is in Police custody for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old female patient at Nyamata Health Centre in Bugesera District over the weekend. It allegedly happened when the male nurse identified as Jean de Dieu Barayavuga was examining the teenager in one of the consultation rooms at the health facility. The girl made an alarm after realising that the examination was going beyond the limits of diagnosing malaria which the girl suspected she had. Patients and medical staff intervened to rescue her and handed the suspect to police. The victim (name withheld) said the male nurse made her lie on a coat in the consultation room and tried to kiss her. “He started caressing my legs, breasts and thighs. I had been with nurses for a couple of times but never had any diagnosis gone like this. It was strange...I shouted as I bolted out of the room,” she said. Eastern Province Police Spokesman Emmanuel Kayigi confirmed the incident, saying the suspect was in custody pending further investigation. “For a nurse to abuse the trust of patients is tragic. It sets a very bad precedent and may change the attitude of people toward medical facilities,” he said. “The suspect is denying the charges, but the girl insists she was assaulted,” he said, adding that investigations are ongoing. Residents fear there could be more victims. Antoine Nsanzabaganwa, a resident, said the girl was brave enough to reveal the harassment, adding that there could be more victims who remain silent. “She is very bold. Who knows there could be other silent victims of sexual assault?” he said. The Bugesera incident happened barely a year after a male nurse at Kirehe Hospital, also in the Eastern Province, sexually abused a female patient.
