CONCORD — Severine Wamala, the former Math Department chairman at Lowell High School, who was released early from prison after being convicted of 11 counts of aggravated rape for years of abuse against his daughter, has been denied permission to travel overseas.
Wamala, 63, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was living in Nashua, New Hampshire at the time of his conviction, was granted parole in 2021 after being sentenced in 2007 to 20 to 40 years in prison. Wamala appeared before the New Hampshire Parole Board on Thursday, requesting permission to travel to his native Uganda for the last rites and rituals of his father, who he said died in 2007.
In asking for permission while sitting before the parole board inside a small room in the New Hampshire State Prison for Men in Concord, Wamala admitted that when he committed “the horrible crimes,” he lacked compassion.
“I was selfish to victimize an innocent person,” Wamala said, reading from a piece of paper.
This sentiment was a stark contrast to the past, when Wamala repeatedly denied the crimes leading up to his trial approximately 17 years ago.
The request for international travel was quickly denied by the board, who explained that they do not have the authority to grant international travel to Wamala and that there is no extradition treaty with Uganda.
Prior to the parole board finalizing their decision, a victim impact statement written by Wamala’s daughter, Jessica Ariel-Wamala, was read by her friend, Don Dooley, who was also a former friend of Wamala and a former Lowell High teacher. Ariel-Wamala listened to the hearing by phone.
“I trusted my father,” Ariel-Wamala said in the statement. “He was supposed to protect me, to guide me, to be someone I could look up to. But instead, he shattered me in ways I couldn’t comprehend at the time. He stole my safety, my sense of self, and my ability to trust. And he didn’t just do it once — he did it over and over and over again.”
The crimes committed by Wamala surfaced in September 2006, when Ariel-Wamala was 15 years old. The sexual abuse began when she was in sixth grade.
During the trial in September 2007, then 16-year-old Ariel-Wamala, an accomplished young chess player, testified that she was sexually abused by her father once a month after chess tournaments. He would give her a nod, signaling her to go into his bedroom.
During the trial, when asked about their sexual relationship, Wamala stated that he believed he was showing how much he loved her.
In her statement, Ariel-Wamala asked the parole board not to allow her father to travel overseas, expressing fear for her own safety and that of her family. She revealed she suffered a panic attack upon hearing about Wamala’s request.
“The body remembers what the mind fights to heal,” she said in the statement. “The memory of his harm, combined with the fear of his release, overwhelmed me. My body and mind were consumed by the terror of what this could mean — not just for me, but for everyone he might harm.”
Ariel-Wamala also noted that allowing him to travel overseas would undermine the trust survivors place in the justice system, while reopening old wounds.
“My father’s early release has already shaken the foundations of accountability,” she added. “Allowing him to leave the country would break the final promise of safety and oversight that the state made to me and others like me.”
As the powerful statement was read, Wamala sat at the table with his head resting in his hand. In its closing, the board informed him that his request was denied. When asked if there was anything else he would like to tell the board, he silently shook his head to indicate no.
With the board’s decision, Ariel-Wamala released a statement expressing “relief, gratitude, and liberation.”
“It was a moment of clarity and justice, and I honestly felt the kind of relief you get after being straight stuck in traffic for hours, and suddenly, the road opens up, and just like that there’s a secure feeling your ETA isn’t lying and you know you’ll actually make it home,” she said.
A document from the New Hampshire Department of Corrections states that Wamala will remain under the supervision of a parole officer while on parole through July 4, 2036, unless discharged early by the parole board.
Wamala began his teaching at Lowell High School in October 2003 as a substitute before being hired in January 2004. He was appointed Math Department chairman in June 2006, three months before his arrest. Like his daughter, Wamala is also a skilled chess player and coached the Lowell High chess team.
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