A Ugandan rugby player who sought asylum in Wales has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after being found guilty of raping a woman in Cardiff.
Philip Pariyo, 32, who once represented Uganda in Rugby Sevens at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, was convicted in December 2024. Cardiff Crown Court heard that he had built a close friendship with the victim before attacking her in a flat in June 2021. Throughout the trial, Pariyo maintained his innocence, but the jury found overwhelming evidence against him.
During the sentencing hearing, the victim’s impact statement was read aloud, revealing the profound emotional and psychological scars left by the attack.
“No one in the world should go through what I did, fighting and begging for my life,” she wrote. “It has left lasting impacts on me, and has felt like an open wound that I can never heal from.”
She further described how the assault made her feel “dirty, numb, and tainted,” adding that Pariyo had “invaded” her body by force.
Judge Celia Hughes, in her ruling, condemned the former athlete’s actions as “an appalling attack and violation of a woman you called a friend.”
Pariyo first arrived in the UK in 2014 as part of the Ugandan national team for the Commonwealth Games. However, after the tournament, he and another player disappeared, later resurfacing in Cardiff, where he claimed asylum. He alleged that returning to Uganda was not an option due to fears of persecution, claiming he had been accused of being homosexual—a charge that carries severe consequences in his home country.
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While in Wales, Pariyo played for St Peter’s Rugby Club in Roath and later found employment as a waste management worker with Cardiff Council. St Peter’s Rugby Club confirmed that he had not played for them in nearly a decade.
The court was told that Pariyo met the victim at a funeral in Cardiff in 2019, and over time, they developed a friendship. By 2021, they were staying in the city alongside two others, including Pariyo’s pregnant girlfriend.
On the night of the assault, Judge Hughes noted that Pariyo had “badgered” the woman for sex, ignoring her repeated refusals. He then proceeded to rape her.
The next morning, the victim accompanied him to a chemist to buy the morning-after pill. Pariyo also suggested purchasing condoms, implying he intended to engage in further sexual activity with her later that day.
The judge strongly criticized his refusal to plead guilty despite the weight of evidence against him. “You pleaded not guilty even though you admitted having sex in your text messages,” she said. “She will never be the same strong, confident woman she was before she came to Cardiff to see you, because of your sexual greed.”
Pariyo submitted a letter to the court, expressing remorse: “I am genuinely sorry to those who suffered from my actions.” However, his apology did little to soften the judge’s condemnation of his behavior
