Illegal orphanage closed, owner arrested
Dec 09, 2009
THE Ministry for Gender and Labour has closed down an orphanage in Wakiso district and locked up the proprietor.Florence Athieno, 41, yesterday cried as female Police officers arrested her for operating an illegal orphanage, the Love Ministries Childrenâ€
By Francis Kagolo
THE Ministry for Gender and Labour has closed down an orphanage in Wakiso district and locked up the proprietor.
Florence Athieno, 41, yesterday cried as female Police officers arrested her for operating an illegal orphanage, the Love Ministries Children’s Centre, in her house.
The centre, located at Athieno’s residence in Kisimu village, Nabweru sub-county, was home to 40 destitute children, some from as far as Iganga. It had existed for 15 years.
Athieno was arrested because she never sought consent from the ministry to take care of the children, said Kaboggoza Ssembatya, the Assistant Commissioner for Children Affairs.
“The law bars anyone from operating an orphanage without the approval of the minister responsible for children.â€
Athieno pleaded that she had not been aware of the law initially but was in the final stages of regularising the centre with the ministry.
“It was me who approached some officials in your ministry to help me with the registration process. The process has been ongoing. Why then do you turn against me?†she asked.
The woman displayed a certificate she obtained from the district earlier this year allowing her to operate the centre as a community-based organisation. She argued that the children were picked from the streets and brought to her by residents, knowing she could take care of them. “Since they are vulnerable and I can fend for them, I could not chase them away.â€
But Ssembatya said the home did not meet the minimum standards of an orphanage as it lacked space, land, buildings, security, staff and clinics to support the number of children it was accommodating.
“At the moment, the home can only accommodate 15 children. Athieno committed an offence and, therefore, she is under arrest,†he said, adding that ignorance of the law did not exonerate her.
Residents in the neighbourhood, however, came to the support of the woman, saying she had toiled to raise funds to look after the children.
All the children of school-going age attended Step-by-Step Primary School, located a few kilometers from the home, a resident said.
One of the children, Joseph Magala, 12, narrated that he left Jinja after his parents died of HIV/AIDS.
Athieno said she used the meager proceeds from her tailoring business to feed, cloth and educate the children and foot their medical bills. She argued that the centre had a resident nurse, two cooks and a cleaner.
Although the Police officers who executed the arrest were from Wakiso Police station, The New Vision could not establish where Athieno was detained by press time.
Ssembatya said the children were transferred to Naguru reception centre and each would be taken back to their areas of origin.
THE Ministry for Gender and Labour has closed down an orphanage in Wakiso district and locked up the proprietor.
Florence Athieno, 41, yesterday cried as female Police officers arrested her for operating an illegal orphanage, the Love Ministries Children’s Centre, in her house.
The centre, located at Athieno’s residence in Kisimu village, Nabweru sub-county, was home to 40 destitute children, some from as far as Iganga. It had existed for 15 years.
Athieno was arrested because she never sought consent from the ministry to take care of the children, said Kaboggoza Ssembatya, the Assistant Commissioner for Children Affairs.
“The law bars anyone from operating an orphanage without the approval of the minister responsible for children.â€
Athieno pleaded that she had not been aware of the law initially but was in the final stages of regularising the centre with the ministry.
“It was me who approached some officials in your ministry to help me with the registration process. The process has been ongoing. Why then do you turn against me?†she asked.
The woman displayed a certificate she obtained from the district earlier this year allowing her to operate the centre as a community-based organisation. She argued that the children were picked from the streets and brought to her by residents, knowing she could take care of them. “Since they are vulnerable and I can fend for them, I could not chase them away.â€
But Ssembatya said the home did not meet the minimum standards of an orphanage as it lacked space, land, buildings, security, staff and clinics to support the number of children it was accommodating.
“At the moment, the home can only accommodate 15 children. Athieno committed an offence and, therefore, she is under arrest,†he said, adding that ignorance of the law did not exonerate her.
Residents in the neighbourhood, however, came to the support of the woman, saying she had toiled to raise funds to look after the children.
All the children of school-going age attended Step-by-Step Primary School, located a few kilometers from the home, a resident said.
One of the children, Joseph Magala, 12, narrated that he left Jinja after his parents died of HIV/AIDS.
Athieno said she used the meager proceeds from her tailoring business to feed, cloth and educate the children and foot their medical bills. She argued that the centre had a resident nurse, two cooks and a cleaner.
Although the Police officers who executed the arrest were from Wakiso Police station, The New Vision could not establish where Athieno was detained by press time.
Ssembatya said the children were transferred to Naguru reception centre and each would be taken back to their areas of origin.