Africa-Press – Uganda. Several men in rural areas of Lango Sub-region are being battered by their wives and denied sex over failure to provide food for their families, Daily Monitor has established.Faced with food insecurity caused by drought and the Covid-19 lockdown, the spate of domestic violence is taking a toll on sub-region. The sub-region is comprised of Lira, Kole, Oyam, Apac, Dokolo, Otuke, Amolatar, Alebtong and Kwania districts.A mini- survey by Daily Monitor shows that men are suffering silently in the hands of their wives as they shy away from reporting such cases to local authorities. They say reporting such cases would men being considered social misfits and of a weaker sex.Last week, two men committed suicide in separate incidences in Otuke and Amolatar districts after being abandoned by their wives for failing to provide food for their families.The deceased are Ronald Alung, 28, a resident of Anyapo Village, Agikdak Sub-county in Amolatar District.The sub-county chairperson, Mr Tommy Otanga, said Alung committed suicide by hanging on a tree after his wife, Ms Evelyn Adongo, left him for another man.“The deceased followed his wife who was at their [Adongo’s] home to see what kind of life she was living but he found her with another man,” Mr Olanga said.Pius Ocen, who was a resident of Kapyelebong District, reportedly committed suicide at his in-law’s home in Otuke last Friday after his wife, Ms Grace Akello, eloped with another man.Ms Barbra Adongo, a resident of Atodi Cell, Omito Ward in Lira City West Division, said what annoys a woman the most is when a man leaves home early in the morning without leaving behind any money for food. She said such irresponsible men always return home at night already drunk and start demanding for food and sex.“You find that a mother who has been seeing her starving children crying all day because of hunger is already boiling with anger. What else do you expect her to do to her staggering husband apart from serious beating?” Ms Adongo, a mother of six, said.Men locked outMr Felix Martin Abishai, the LCI chairperson of Ober Cell in Lira City, said in his area of jurisdiction, men are facing a lot of problems to the extent that some are being locked out if they return home late.“Men are not used to returning home very early so they find it very hard to return at 7pm. So, they prefer hanging out with friends and then they go back home sometimes at 9pm, but this is causing problems with their wives,” he explained.In the month of July 2021, at least seven people lost their lives in separate homicide incidents across the Lango Sub-region in a span of one week.Data obtained from police indicates that of the nine districts in the region, Oyam registered two cases, Dokolo and Kole one case each while Lira City registered three cases.Mr Jimmy Patrick Okema, the outgoing North Kyoga regional police spokesperson, said murder due to domestic violence and mob action is on the rise due to the effect of Covid-19.On June 23, 2021, police in Lira District arrested a secondary school teacher after he allegedly killed his wife and hang her body on a tree.It is reported that the 29-year-old teacher allegedly killed his wife, Ms Linicia Akirapa, after withdrawing the deceased’s money from her bank account.On June 25, 2021, police in Lira District arrested a 36-year-old man for allegedly killing his one-year-old child after chasing away his wife.
