Ssebanga’s relatives bitter
Nov 12, 2009
THE relatives of Enock Ssebbanga, who was tortured as a child, have said they will not forgive his father. Enock Ssebbanga, 20, who was almost starved to death by his parents and rescued by good samaritans after a tip-off from his aunt in 2000, died on No
By Jude Kafuuma
THE relatives of Enock Ssebbanga, who was tortured as a child, have said they will not forgive his father. Enock Ssebbanga, 20, who was almost starved to death by his parents and rescued by good samaritans after a tip-off from his aunt in 2000, died on November 4, 2009 from Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer.
“It is good Ssebbanga died after reconciling with his parents but as a family it is difficult to reconcile with such people,†said Alexandria Baabumba, one of the aunties.
Born in 1988, Ssebbanga became a national concern and was among the first children to attract the Government’s intervention over child torture.
His parents, Charles Kayongo and step-mother Regina Nabakooza, were sentenced to seven years in prison. The Government implemented laws against children’s rights violation in the Children Act of 1996.
Since the beginning of 2009, Ssebbanga had been undergoing chemotherapy at the Kampala International Hospital until last month when his blood count could not contain the tough treatment.
He was pronounced terminally ill and given 28 days to live, the exact time he died. “It must have been the torture by his parents that caused the cancer. His left collarbone was broken and exposed to the surface while his left hand and leg bones were injured until they were replaced,†the Rev. Kefa Ssempangi told mourners while crying.
Ssempangi urged the Government to enforce the laws that protect children’s rights. “We should know that children are not like property to be subjected to harsh treatment. The Government should arrest parents like Kayongo,†he said.
At 2:57pm on Tuesday, Ssebbanga was buried at his ancestral home at Katulaga-Maya village on Kampala-Masaka road.
The director of Bethel Covenant College, where Ssebbanga was studying, said he had been sick since he was admitted to the school.
“We recall him as intelligent with a good sense of humour,†said Rashid Luswa, adding that he was always the first or second in class. Mourners held red roses at the burial that was attended by women and school children from his former school.
“This is not the end of Ssebbanga but the beginning of a new life. Our task is to fight for the rights of children,†Ssempangi said.
THE relatives of Enock Ssebbanga, who was tortured as a child, have said they will not forgive his father. Enock Ssebbanga, 20, who was almost starved to death by his parents and rescued by good samaritans after a tip-off from his aunt in 2000, died on November 4, 2009 from Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer.
“It is good Ssebbanga died after reconciling with his parents but as a family it is difficult to reconcile with such people,†said Alexandria Baabumba, one of the aunties.
Born in 1988, Ssebbanga became a national concern and was among the first children to attract the Government’s intervention over child torture.
His parents, Charles Kayongo and step-mother Regina Nabakooza, were sentenced to seven years in prison. The Government implemented laws against children’s rights violation in the Children Act of 1996.
Since the beginning of 2009, Ssebbanga had been undergoing chemotherapy at the Kampala International Hospital until last month when his blood count could not contain the tough treatment.
He was pronounced terminally ill and given 28 days to live, the exact time he died. “It must have been the torture by his parents that caused the cancer. His left collarbone was broken and exposed to the surface while his left hand and leg bones were injured until they were replaced,†the Rev. Kefa Ssempangi told mourners while crying.
Ssempangi urged the Government to enforce the laws that protect children’s rights. “We should know that children are not like property to be subjected to harsh treatment. The Government should arrest parents like Kayongo,†he said.
At 2:57pm on Tuesday, Ssebbanga was buried at his ancestral home at Katulaga-Maya village on Kampala-Masaka road.
The director of Bethel Covenant College, where Ssebbanga was studying, said he had been sick since he was admitted to the school.
“We recall him as intelligent with a good sense of humour,†said Rashid Luswa, adding that he was always the first or second in class. Mourners held red roses at the burial that was attended by women and school children from his former school.
“This is not the end of Ssebbanga but the beginning of a new life. Our task is to fight for the rights of children,†Ssempangi said.