By Devine Atwine,
Lyantonde.
Bakyenga Herbert, the District Education Officer (DEO), Lyantonde District, and Lyantonde Central police station are embroiled in a bitter clash over the disappearance of defilement case files from the police.
He accused Denis Odoki, the Lyantonde District Police commander, and Asendu Robert, the District OC CID of negligence and for taking young girls’ rights for granted.
According to Bakyenga, since March 20, 2020, he received 68 cases of defilement and 42 cases of early child marriages, he reported to the police but unfortunately, all case files disappeared from the police.
“After receiving the complaints in my office, I reported the matter to the Lyantonde central police station for further investigations. It was too absurd and unfortunate when I was informed one week later that case files disappeared from the police custody and there was nowhere to trace them”. D.E.O Bakyenga said.
Case in point, the police in Lyantonde have failed to arrest one Kakooza Ismail commonly known as “Musiiramu” who is suspected to have defiled a four old girl in Kikoona, Kaliiro sub-county, Lyatonde District. The case of aggravated Defilement number SD.REF.06/24/04/202, CRB 016/ 2021 was first registered at Kaliiro police station and it was later transferred to Lyantonde Central Police Station.
Oliver Nakayega, one of the parents whose child was defiled said whenever she reaches the Lyantonde Police station to follow up her case, police keep pushing her instead of handling or telling her the truth that her file has disappeared.
She said the suspect who defiled her child also kept threatening her that it insists on the case, he will harm her.
Due to this challenge, D.E.O Bakyenga told the New Vision that in the whole District of Lyantonde, the percentage of students who turned up for this term is only 65 percent, others were forced into child early marriages, some of the girls were defiled, impregnated while boys are in child labor.
He asked the Ministry of Education and local leaders right from the local council to the District level to intervene and discipline both parents and culprits because the police failed to arrest the culprits and those parents who force their young school girls into early marriages.
According to Andrew Kamugasha, the District probation officer, Lyantonde between August 2020 and February 2021, he received 1029 cases of child abuse and among the cases, defilement and domestic violence registered the highest number.
However, he revealed, “We received 144 cases of Defilement, Domestic Violence 330, early child marriages 55, Teenage pregnancy 80, Indecent assault 15, physical Assault 50, Child labor 108, incest 15 among others and a girl child is the most affected”.
He said that the rights of 845 girls were violated while 184 rights of boys were also violated totaling 1029 cases of child abuse in Lyantonde District.
However, Moses Tumwine, the field officer, Forum for Women in Democracy, Lyantonde said “Parents differentiate the girls from the boys and look at girls as the marriage materials. The Moment someone delivers a baby and finds out that she is a baby girl, then parents start counting the cows. Parents see the source of wealth from that girl. Social norm of looking at girls just for marriage is a problem and it has already penetrated into our communities”.
He added that “When a child is assaulted or defiled and she reports the case to the police, she is told to return back home and resolve the matter there. This attitude has left many victims of violence without any support from the responsible party but at the mercy of their oppressors”.
Kellen Namara, the OC station, Lyantonde Police Station disproves the allegations of the disappearance of case files from the police saying that those are people who are trying hard to tarnish the picture of the Police.
