The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
COMMENT | CONSTANCE KICONCO | One day, early in the morning, I got a call.
She was crying. Her voice was low and shaky.
“Connie, I need to meet you.”
I asked gently, “What’s wrong? Can we talk now?”
Her answer hit me: “No, we can’t talk on phone.”
I told her where to find me and she came.
She sat in front of me, broken. And then she spoke with the kind of honesty that only comes from deep pain. I’ll let her words speak for themselves: “I’m shattered, Connie. Yes, I’ve made mistakes, but this one—I didn’t see it coming. It started online. A stranger sent me a message. I replied. We kept chatting every day. It was fun and exciting. We talked for almost two months. Then one day, he asked if we could meet. I said yes.”
“We met in a posh hotel. He looked normal. He talked well. Then he said he needed to pick something from his room and asked if I could come with him. I followed.”
“Connie… that’s where it all crumbled. He raped me. A total stranger. No scream could save me. No one could save me .”
I went home and tried to act like everything was normal. But as the days passed, my period never came. I got worried and decided to take a pregnancy test, on taking the test, the results came back positive, Connie my heart sank.
The following day, I quietly sought out a doctor and shared my story with him. After listening, he agreed to help. We went through with the abortion—silently, secretly.
The doctor also asked if I had taken PEP. I didn’t even know what that was. They tested me for HIV. By God’s grace, the result was negative. But inside… I wasn’t okay. I was broken, and I was carrying it all alone. It was slowly eating me up.”
She paused, wiped her tears, and looked down. You could see it on her —-the weight of everything she had just said.
For a moment, it felt like I was watching a scene from a film. But this was real.
This isn’t fiction. It’s happening.
Girls are walking into traps disguised as conversations.
We are losing them silently to trauma, to shame, to pain they don’t know how to speak of.
To every potential victim reading this:
Don’t respond to every message.
Don’t agree to meet strangers.
Don’t go to private places.
Don’t ignore that gut feeling.
And if something has already happened to you, please talk to someone. You don’t have to carry it alone.
Let’s protect one another. Let’s guide the younger generation and remind them not to easily trust strangers, especially in private or hidden places. One voice, one warning, could save a life.
*****
Constance Kiconco is a dedicated Child and Adolescent Mental Health Therapist with certifications in: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Child Psychology, Addiction and Substance Abuse Treatment, and Suicide and Violent Behaviour Studies. She has hands-on experience at Mulago Adolescent Clinic, Mulago and Nsambya Hospital T1D clinics, where she provides psychosocial support and counseling to young people facing a range of mental health challenges. Her work is grounded in empathy, structured care, and a passion for emotional wellness and community transformation.
Constance Kiconco (aka) Connie Kiconcoconnie@gmail.com
