Police records over 6000 defilement cases in six months

The Police have recorded 6,888 cases of child defilement within the last six months this year, with Mbale topping the list at 191 cases reported.

The revelation was made by the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Grace Akullo, the Director of Criminal Investigations Department (CID) while making an address on Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), at the CID headquarters in Kibuli, Kampala.

Akullo said out of the 6,888 children defiled by the end of June, 6,805 were female juveniles and 83 male juveniles. She pointed out that the age group of children defiled ranges from 0-8 up to 17 and the higher the ages the higher the number of cases of defilement.

For example, the age group between 0-8 years had 620 victims recorded while 1,446 and 4,822 victims were between the age group of 9-14 years and 15-17 years respectively.

Akullo attributed the defilement of girls between 15-17 years to factors such as some cultural norms where girls who developed breasts are considered ready for marriage and also where adolescents are taken advantage of, while some girls are defiled in the process of doing domestic chores.

Defilement is unlawful sexual intercourse with a person who is below the age of 18 and the guilty party on conviction is liable to life imprisonment. 

Akullo explained that out of 6,888 children defiled, 61 were defiled by their parents, 64 by the guardians, 54 by teachers, 110 by persons suspected to be HIV positive, while 38 were children living with disabilities.

She told participants that the Elgon region topped with 489 cases of defilement followed by North Kyoga with 444, while East Kyoga had 425 cases and Kampala Metropolitan North with 293.

Other regions that recorded cases of defilement include Greater Masaka 394, Albertine 393, Bukedi 384, Aswa 348, Busoga East 316 and Rwenzori West 311.

Regarding districts leading with defilement cases, Mbale tops the list with 191 cases followed by Arua with 125, Kamuli 122, Tororo 95, Buyende 93, Bududa 88, Buikwe 87, Masaka 85 and Kassanda 82 while Katwe Division recorded 122 cases.

Comparison

According to Akullo, for the period under review, a total of 6,838 cases of defilement were reported to the police compared to 7,216 reported cases between January and June in 2019 showing a 5.2% decrease.

She pointed out that of the 6,838 defilement cases reported by the end of June, 1,912 were aggravated defilement while 4,926 were defilement.

Akullo told participants that by the end of June this year 2,652 cases were taken to court out of which 171 cases secured conviction and one case was acquitted while 24 cases were dismissed and 2,456 cases are still pending in court.

She informed guests that 3,212 cases were still under investigation. She said in 2019 in the period under review (January-June) 2,727 suspects were arrested and charged in the courts of law securing 170 convictions while 2,536 were still awaiting trial.

In the last three years, 16,862 defilement cases were recorded in 2017,  17,521 in 2018, and 15,683 in 2019. 

The Deputy IGP Sabiiti Muzeyi decried the defilement of children between the age bracket 0-8 saying interventions need to be made to combat the vice.

"Handling of cases of sexual gender-based violence need a concerted effort from both law enforcement agencies and stakeholders if we are to defeat this vice eating away our society," Muzeyi said.

Over 50 police officers and their families selected from Nsambya and Kibuli police barracks are undergoing a four- day training exercise on sexual gender-based violence(SGBV), being conducted by experts from Makerere University and the United National Population Fund (UNFPA).

The UNFPA assistant representative, Dr Edson Muhwezi, told participants that after training, the populace should be sensitised about the dangers of SGBV and how to prevent the defilement of young girls and child marriages.

"It's critical to report, document and stand up for justice for victims of sexual gender-based violence and champion gender equality and professional growth," Dr Muhwezi said.