What happened to the old tradition of extended family?
Nov 23, 2009
KARORO OKURUT<br><i>A literary and socio-political analyst</i><br><br>By now everybody must have read the story of the little 14- year-old girl from Bushenyi who captured local and international headlines by hitting her would-be defiler with a stone. T
KARORO OKURUT
A literary and socio-political analyst
By now everybody must have read the story of the little 14- year-old girl from Bushenyi who captured local and international headlines by hitting her would-be defiler with a stone. The man died later.
From a journalistic point of view this one had all the ingredients of a great story: A little girl about to become another unpleasant statistic of defilement cases in Uganda. A 40- year old herdsman who, endowed with the advantage of age, masculine strength, buttressed by years of experience wrestling bulls to the ground and chasing wolves away from the herd, was overwhelming in every sense.
Like every professional herdsman, the attacker obviously must have had a strong rod used for beating sense and order into the cattle. Then consider the killer weapon: a stone. From a legal point of view, any precedent that comes to mind? Oh yes! This story was first and last heard of about 4,000 years ago when a small unlikely Israelite boy called David defeated a mountain of a man called Goliath, a Philistine.
The facts of that case and the judges’ decision were exactly the same: a stone settled the contest. Like the previously unknown David, this girl whose names are withheld for legal and ethical reasons since she is a minor and whom I will now call Peace, has become a national heroine overnight. She was arrested by Police but released after two days after women activists and local councillors intervened and stood surety for her. I will clarify that even then she was kept in custody for her own safety in keeping with the law as the Police are by law obliged to release a child suspect only when her security is guaranteed.
However, rather than take her to the Police cells, she should have been taken to a family setting, a counsellor or even a priest. Being Member of Parliament for Bushenyi, Peace is my constituent, so I took the trouble to meet her last Saturday. She is medium height, small-bodied, with a chocolate complexion. A nice-looking girl by all means. And what is more, by all intents and purposes, a small girl; for though 14 years old, she looks just 11 or so. She looked me only once in the eye and then looked away after that, but I could see in her eyes every evidence of trauma. I could see deep hurt, torment, betrayal and anger. She was unsure of herself and oozed a sense of insecurity from every pore. Try as I might to hold conversation rather than a kind of interrogation, she was slow in response, looking down or away and taking her time to answer even the simplest question. She was cagey and withdrawn. The first trace of a smile finally came when I told her that she was not alone, as I had suffered almost the same experience in my younger days and I had hit the beast with all my might with a stick that came in handy. A miracle happened as soon as I said that!
At that point she opened up and the lights literally came on. The tables were turned, roles were changed and soon, the previously feigned little girl who couldn’t look me a fellow female in the eye, was now the one interviewing me, asking me about this and that. She had finally found somebody she could identify with; somebody who had gone through the same experience and done what any female has every right to do; hit hard at her attacker with whatever weapon she can access. This is a true story. She asked me how old I was and which school. I told her I was about 13 and in Bweranyangi Girls School, Bushenyi and the man had waylaid me in Nyampimbi swamp on my way home. Now her story began flowing.
She told me her father died several years ago and she grew up with her mother together with her brother and sister. Her attacker, good riddance, had been pursuing her for sometime, without success, always waylaying her on her way between home and school, or from the well. When she alerted her mother to the danger she was in, the mother promptly reported the matter to the herdsman’s employer who listened just once and fired the man immediately.
There was some respite for a while, but then tragedy struck in April this year. Peace’s mother who had been her ever-present protector, died after struggling with long periods of high fever and vomiting.
Peace became the mother and head of the household of the small, children-only family. The herdsman reacted by returning to his employer and asking to be reinstated. The employer obliged.
Project number two on the defiler’s agenda was now to grab the girl. Whenever Peace was on her way to the well, he would spring out of the bushes and chase after her. In most cases they went without dinner because there was no water, as Peace was always fighting for her life.
A few days before, I had spoken to the Bishop of West Ankole Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Katonene and learnt that a few months ago he officiated at a confirmation ceremony of young Christians in Bushenyi. During the ceremony, one of the girls stood up and said that she was born-again but she needed people’s prayers because there was a man who was constantly harassing her with intent to defile her. The bishop suspected it was this girl. When I asked Peace if she was the one, she answered in the affirmative. I also learnt that the herdsman had been a jailbird. He had done time before, for defilement. For him defilement had been a way of life, and he attacked his victims relentlessly. The thought of prison had never been a worry or deterrent.
It is touching that there has been overwhelming support for Peace. I have received more than 11 offers; people who want to pay for her education till she finishes university and counseling and provide her with a home. But there is also the question of her siblings, a brother and sister who also need support. The small family also needs protection, because when she killed the beast, his relatives came and demanded that this poor family of only children only, thank you, provide a coffin and transport for the corpse!
In a broader sense, Peace’s case should awaken the community to the need to return to the days of yore, when every child was everybody’s child. These children should not be left alone just because both parents are dead. We also need to step up our community policing; everybody becoming their brother’s keeper.
How could a little girl have to fight for herself with an entire community unaware? Whatever happened to extended families and clans? Parents die and children stay alone? This is not good.
A literary and socio-political analyst
By now everybody must have read the story of the little 14- year-old girl from Bushenyi who captured local and international headlines by hitting her would-be defiler with a stone. The man died later.
From a journalistic point of view this one had all the ingredients of a great story: A little girl about to become another unpleasant statistic of defilement cases in Uganda. A 40- year old herdsman who, endowed with the advantage of age, masculine strength, buttressed by years of experience wrestling bulls to the ground and chasing wolves away from the herd, was overwhelming in every sense.
Like every professional herdsman, the attacker obviously must have had a strong rod used for beating sense and order into the cattle. Then consider the killer weapon: a stone. From a legal point of view, any precedent that comes to mind? Oh yes! This story was first and last heard of about 4,000 years ago when a small unlikely Israelite boy called David defeated a mountain of a man called Goliath, a Philistine.
The facts of that case and the judges’ decision were exactly the same: a stone settled the contest. Like the previously unknown David, this girl whose names are withheld for legal and ethical reasons since she is a minor and whom I will now call Peace, has become a national heroine overnight. She was arrested by Police but released after two days after women activists and local councillors intervened and stood surety for her. I will clarify that even then she was kept in custody for her own safety in keeping with the law as the Police are by law obliged to release a child suspect only when her security is guaranteed.
However, rather than take her to the Police cells, she should have been taken to a family setting, a counsellor or even a priest. Being Member of Parliament for Bushenyi, Peace is my constituent, so I took the trouble to meet her last Saturday. She is medium height, small-bodied, with a chocolate complexion. A nice-looking girl by all means. And what is more, by all intents and purposes, a small girl; for though 14 years old, she looks just 11 or so. She looked me only once in the eye and then looked away after that, but I could see in her eyes every evidence of trauma. I could see deep hurt, torment, betrayal and anger. She was unsure of herself and oozed a sense of insecurity from every pore. Try as I might to hold conversation rather than a kind of interrogation, she was slow in response, looking down or away and taking her time to answer even the simplest question. She was cagey and withdrawn. The first trace of a smile finally came when I told her that she was not alone, as I had suffered almost the same experience in my younger days and I had hit the beast with all my might with a stick that came in handy. A miracle happened as soon as I said that!
At that point she opened up and the lights literally came on. The tables were turned, roles were changed and soon, the previously feigned little girl who couldn’t look me a fellow female in the eye, was now the one interviewing me, asking me about this and that. She had finally found somebody she could identify with; somebody who had gone through the same experience and done what any female has every right to do; hit hard at her attacker with whatever weapon she can access. This is a true story. She asked me how old I was and which school. I told her I was about 13 and in Bweranyangi Girls School, Bushenyi and the man had waylaid me in Nyampimbi swamp on my way home. Now her story began flowing.
She told me her father died several years ago and she grew up with her mother together with her brother and sister. Her attacker, good riddance, had been pursuing her for sometime, without success, always waylaying her on her way between home and school, or from the well. When she alerted her mother to the danger she was in, the mother promptly reported the matter to the herdsman’s employer who listened just once and fired the man immediately.
There was some respite for a while, but then tragedy struck in April this year. Peace’s mother who had been her ever-present protector, died after struggling with long periods of high fever and vomiting.
Peace became the mother and head of the household of the small, children-only family. The herdsman reacted by returning to his employer and asking to be reinstated. The employer obliged.
Project number two on the defiler’s agenda was now to grab the girl. Whenever Peace was on her way to the well, he would spring out of the bushes and chase after her. In most cases they went without dinner because there was no water, as Peace was always fighting for her life.
A few days before, I had spoken to the Bishop of West Ankole Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Katonene and learnt that a few months ago he officiated at a confirmation ceremony of young Christians in Bushenyi. During the ceremony, one of the girls stood up and said that she was born-again but she needed people’s prayers because there was a man who was constantly harassing her with intent to defile her. The bishop suspected it was this girl. When I asked Peace if she was the one, she answered in the affirmative. I also learnt that the herdsman had been a jailbird. He had done time before, for defilement. For him defilement had been a way of life, and he attacked his victims relentlessly. The thought of prison had never been a worry or deterrent.
It is touching that there has been overwhelming support for Peace. I have received more than 11 offers; people who want to pay for her education till she finishes university and counseling and provide her with a home. But there is also the question of her siblings, a brother and sister who also need support. The small family also needs protection, because when she killed the beast, his relatives came and demanded that this poor family of only children only, thank you, provide a coffin and transport for the corpse!
In a broader sense, Peace’s case should awaken the community to the need to return to the days of yore, when every child was everybody’s child. These children should not be left alone just because both parents are dead. We also need to step up our community policing; everybody becoming their brother’s keeper.
How could a little girl have to fight for herself with an entire community unaware? Whatever happened to extended families and clans? Parents die and children stay alone? This is not good.