Child neglect, defilement 'rampant in North Kyoga'

PIC: SP Lawrence Omara of North Kyoga regional child and family protection unit. (Credit: Andrew Masinde)

Cases of defilement and child neglect are rampant in North Kyoga region, according to SP Lawrence Omara.

He is the North Kyoga regional child and family protection unit commander.

Last year alone, the region registered 1,344 cases of defilement, a slight decline compared to 2015 where 1, 493 cases were recorded.

Omara said that particularly in February, Lira registered 52 cases of defilement - a situation he says needs urgent attention.

"Other cases received include child rejection, corporal punishment in schools and also at home. When the cases are reported, we try to investigate and with enough evidence we take the culprits to court. Many are punished but still cases still happen," said Omara.

As a way of curbing such cases, the region had started doing community policing.

 "We have started going to communities telling people about why they need to protect their children against abuses. We also started visiting schools to ensure that the teachers, school leaders and even the children themselves are sensitized on their rights."

Gladys Achen, who works with the office of child protection in Lira, said some children are defiled by their own parents and relatives but fear to report because of the consequences that could arise.

"Most children die in silence with the abuses because they fear that the perpetuators who are either elders in the clan, parents or relatives will do harm to them," she says.

"Some think they will be bewitched. This is why we have decided to ensure that we inform them of what they have to do in case such cases happen to them."

Achen says the main causes of child abuse is poverty in families that has forced children to go to towns in search for jobs, where many end up in the hands of inhumane people.

"Some parents are lazy, they prefer spending most of their time drinking waragi, and this is a serious issue that has forced many children to drop out of school, hence being exposed to people who defile them while loitering around the villages," said Achen.