My name is Yorusalem Teweldebrha, born on 25/12/1997 and on the 31^st of March 2013 came to Uganda Kampala because Mr. Mihretab convinced my parents and myself that he would give me an opportunity for better education and life and that when I reach adulthood, some time in the future, would become the wife to his son Henok Mihretab.

But the promised bright future started to dissapear the moment I arrived in Kampala, Uganda. On that first day in his house I was told that I sleep on the same bed with his son — contrary to what was promised to my parents. And I soon was pregnant.

The day he started to sexually abuse me started like this. One day, he called me to his room upstairs and orderd me to take off my clothes. When I refused he started to beat me until I stopped resisting and then he raped me. I cried and out of desperation went to his son [Henok] to tell him about what has happened. But he convinced his son that he only tried to heal me from my “spiritual illness” and was only trying to pray for me. His son believed this version of the story and sided with his father. From that day on he did whatever he wanted with impunity.  He terrorized me by saying that he would kill me if I ever said anything about this to any one.

There was this woman, Yordanos Alazar, in the house who was his wife but he used to order her to kiss his son infront of me and he would say that he likes that his wife sleep with his son. He would then order her to do as he wants and she would do as ordered. Yordanos fled his house after so many abuses by Mihretab. When she escaped, suspecting I had something to do with this, I was beaten up and verbally tortured.

There was also another Ethiopian woman named Feven [last name not known] who was working for him in Juba, South Sudan. He raped her and made her pregnant. After she had the baby he promised her that he would marry her and brought her to Kampala. But upon her arrival he beat her up infront of us and took her son and kicked her out. She cried and begged him to at least leave her son. But after beating her up he forceibly deported her from Uganda without her son.

And there was also another Eritrean woman that he brought from Eritrea. Her name is Meaza [last name not known]. When they were flying in from Eritrea they had a flight transit at Cairo and had to stay in a hotel en route to Uganda. At the hotel, he forcibly raped her in her hotel room. And when she finally arrived to his house in Kampala he continued to abuse her sexually. Then after about three days she escaped the house and I never heared from her since.

Another Eritrean woman, named Terhas [last name also not known] was the home teacher of his litle daughter Rahwa. She was also physically attacked and beaten up when she asked for her salary. He even tried to rape her one night but she screamed so loud and because all of us heard it he spared her that night and she escaped the next day.

He also brought another girl named Stephania Filbato who is a Rwandese national and that he befriended on the internet. He lied to her that he was was able to secure her visa to France and take her there and when she came to his house he raped her. She returned to her country crying.

There was also this girl Maurine a Rwandese national that he brought from Juba, South Sudan. After sexually abusing her he kicked her back to Rwanda saying that she is useless.

Another Ruwandese by the name Annette was also staying in his house as a baby sitter. This girl also used to be raped on a regular basis.

But of all the physical and sexual abuses that he subjected to all of us, the most cruel and horrible to even think about is the one that he did to his own eight year old daughter Rahwa. He would call her to his room and have sex with her. This he does on many occasions. He would say that he is only doing this because he loves her so much and dearly as a father. He would tell her that she should learn to have sex with her father first. He even tells her that unless she has sex with her father first she will die.

One day I noticed that she started to have an infection and she was really itching badly her vagina. I even noticed that she was having an infectious fluid in her vagina. I suggested to Mihretab that he takes her to hospital to get it checked. But he dismissed my concern and he ordered me to wash her and bath her only and mind my own business.

When he went to Eritrea he was arrested because of charges agaist him for similar crimes but later released on guarantee of a person.  Apon his return from Eritrea he also brought another girl named Kokobe Kiros. She was not spared the physical and sexual abuse that many before her went through in his house. She was physically abused so much that she miscarried her two months baby. She was taken to the hospital at the time to get medical intervention. At another occasion he hit her face that her face was cut and she needed to go to hospital. At the hospital he even told the medical staf with impunity that he was the one that hit her because she was bringing attention upon her self.

It was with this girl, Kokobe Kiros that I finally escaped from the hell-hole that was Mihretab’s house. At the time of our flight from his house there was another pregnant woman named Abrehet [last name not known] that he brought from Eritrea. He had told us that she was there only to have his children, but I learned that he has returned her back to Eritrea after we left; I believe it’s because he realized that we were bringing these charges on him.

Having suffered for the past three years under this monster, Mihretab, I took all the courage I could muster and escaped on the 23^rd of November 2015. I immediately made a formal written and verbal statement to the Ugandan police station and the Eritrean Embassy at Uganda [see attached document].

During my escape, my sister, who lives in Brussels, Belgium called some distant relatives to help me find refuge and shelter. However, they were very relactant to help citing that they fear Mihretab and instead wanted me to reconcile peacefully with him. It’s at this time that she contacted Hermon Habtemicael to help us.

At our desperate hours Hermon put his life on the line to help us. He gave us psycological, moral and humanitarian help.  I can’t thank him enough for the help he provided me at that dark and desperate time. Given the dangerous nature of Mihretab it was so brave and selfless of him to offer help risking his life and well being. Because he helped me, Mihretab threatened him several times and literally said that he would kill him unless he hands me to him. But he put his life and safety on the line in order to protect me from this evil person.

All the allegations on Hermon by Mihretab are all pure fabrications and lies. He had threatened him that he would destroy and kill him if didn’t hand me to him and all these charges and allegations are just because he refused to cower to his threats.

He has also made several threats on my life. That he would track me and go anywhere I live and kill me. I think it’s perhaps because I witnessed so many of the crimes [which I tried to enumerate here] he had committed in his house; because I know how wicked and evil he is. Mihretab is dangerous to even his own children and I always feel for those poor children that are living under his roof. I have sleepless nights thinking about my own poor litle daughter who is going to grow under this evil person. I cry every night and can’t sleep when I think about what he might do to her.

I therefore would like that this person be brought to justice for the crimes he has committed on so many innocent individuals.

Yorusalem Teweldebrhan