She took books to her teacher and came back pregnant

DEFILEMENT   IGANGA  PREGNANCY

James Waako a teacher from Iganga district has been sentenced by the Jinja High Court to five years in jail after he was found guilty of defiling one of his pupils.

Court heard on Monday that on February 2, 2015, Waako a teacher at Eastern Primary School in Nabetende, Iganga district, defiled the girl and made her pregnant.

Prosecution stated that after classes, Waako asked the girl to take books to his house where he followed her and defiled her.

In March, her parents noticed that she started vomiting and persistently fell sick, and when she was taken for a medical examination, she was found to be pregnant.

Court heard that when tasked to reveal the person responsible for her pregnancy while at Iganga Police Station, she said Waako forced her to have sex with him.

Upon arrest, Waako he was subjected to tests to ascertain whether he was of sound mind.

Justice Micheal Elubu, who presided over the court session, wondered why instead of nurturing and educating the girl, Waako desired to engage in such acts with a girl of such a tender age.

"You failed the future of this girl by defiling her and she got pregnant. Because you did not waste our time, and as agreed by your lawyers and the State Attorney, you will serve five years as your punishment at Kirinya Prison," he ruled.

Cases of defilement are very common in Ugandan schools. According to Police reports every year, defilement is on of the leading crimes in the country.

A total of 4% of upper primary school pupils in Uganda are, on average, defiled by their teachers in one year. That means that 43,000 girls in P5 to P7, roughly between 10 and 14 years old, have been sexually abused by the very people who are supposed to protect them. 

Girls are lured into sex with their teachers in all kinds of ways, including promises of gifts and good marks. But even without these kind of enticements, girls fear the negative consequences if they refuse to give in to sexual advances from teachers. 

According to Section 129 of the Penal Code, a man who has sexual intercourse with a girl aged less than 18 years is guilty of defilement.

The maximum punishment for defilement is a death sentence.