US couple face the death penalty in Uganda as they are hit with new child trafficking charge: Aid workers ‘tortured their HIV+ foster son, 10, by keeping him naked and feeding him only cold food’

• Nicholas Spencer and Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer are accused of torture
• A new aggravated child trafficking charge carries the death penalty 
• US Embassy in Kampala said it is monitoring the couple’s situation 
• The couple’s lawyer has described the case as a ‘fishing expedition’

A US couple is facing the death penalty in Uganda after they were hit with an aggravated child trafficking charge – on top of a child torture charge they are already battling. 

Nicholas Spencer and his wife Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer, both 32, have been in custody in Uganda since December 9 after they were charged with the aggravated torture of a 10-year-old child.

The boy, who is HIV positive, was living under their care in a suburb of Kampala.

Police said that the couple would force the boy to spend the day barefoot and naked, would often make him squat in awkward positions – with his head facing the floor or his hands spread widely – and that he was only served cold meals from a fridge. 

The American citizens are being held at Luzira Maximum Security Prison – the country’s only maximum security jail, which houses its death row inmates.

Nicholas Spencer and his wife, Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer, both 32, face an additional charge of aggravated child trafficking, which carries the death penalty. If found guilty, the couple may be put on death row in the African country

The Spencers are currently being held at Luzira Maximum Security Prison, the country’s only maximum security prison and where it houses its death row inmates 

If found guilty of the crimes, the couple may be put on death row in the African country because of the fresh charge lodged against them. 

The couple arrived in Uganda in 2017 to volunteer at a US-based non-profit in the town of Jinja, before moving to Naguru, an upmarket Kampala suburb, to work at a start-up, police said.

Prosecutors accuse them of having recruited, transported and kept the 10-year-old child for ‘purposes of exploitation,’ according to the charge sheet.

A lawyer for the couple, who was not identified, was quoted by Ugandan newspaper The Monitor as dismissing the case as a ‘fishing expedition’ by authorities, saying they had no evidence. She was also quoted as saying the new charge ‘doesn’t make sense.’ 

In an interview with the newspaper, a woman who said she was the boy’s caretaker spoke anonymously about what she saw and also alleged he had a camera in his room watching his every move.

The caretaker said: ‘I wanted to leave the job, but I knew if I left without doing something about it, the torture would continue.’

She added that the couple only abused one of their three foster children because they claimed the 10-year-old boy was stubborn, hyperactive and mentally unstable, and they used the punishments to keep him in line. 

Nicholas Spencer, his wife, Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer and their foster children

Jacquelyne Okui, spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office, said the couple cannot enter a plea for the new charge until they are admitted to the High Court 

The most recent charge was read to them on Tuesday, when they appeared in a magistrate’s court, but they were not allowed to make a plea as the case can only be heard at the High Court.

Jacquelyne Okui, spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office, said Wednesday: ‘We will begin the process of committing them to the High Court but we can’t say when that will be finalized so they can be produced in court.’

Nicholas Spencer is currently listed as working for MOTIV Uganda, a company that according to its LinkedIn page: ‘Creates a space where makers can refine and scale their businesses to meet the demand for local and international markets.

‘MOTIV provides creatives with the opportunity to access factories, training, a tribe, and a marketplace where brands sell their products.’ 

Wife Mackenzie also works for MOTIV, according to Uganda police. She said on a GoFundMe page that she and Nicholas ‘moved to East Africa nearly 3 years ago’ and ‘have been doing humanitarian work focused on women’s empowerment and education.’

She also mentions that they are ‘foster parents to 3 incredible children.’

The 10-year-old boy attended a school for children with special needs in Kampala, according to Al Jazeera.

Nicholas Spencer and Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer, both 32, stand in the dock at Buganda Road Court, where they were charged with torturing a 10-year old

The couple also face charges of remaining in the country illegally, as their work permits have expired.

They had three Ugandan children with them under foster care, including the victim, police said. 

The US Embassy in Kampala did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. It said last week it was aware of reports of the arrest and the detention of two US citizens in Kampala and that it was monitoring the situation.

It would not comment further due to privacy considerations. 

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