Africa-Press – Uganda. Authorities in Mukono District want parents arrested and punished over child neglect during this Covid-induced lockdown.
The LCI chairman of Lwanyonyi Village, Mr Davide Bisaso, said many parents especially men have either abandoned or neglected their children due to poverty in this lockdown.
He said the act of abandonment is bad and that this leads to children being involved in bad activities such as crime in communities.
“It is embarrassing for a head of the family to abandon his wife and children. These men should be seriously punished to reduce the sufferings of children,” he said.
The LCIII chairperson of Nama Sub County in Mukono District, Mr John Bosco Isabirye, said the law should act for those who intend not to care for their children because they are fully responsible.
“There are people who are even financially stable and just abandon their children. Such people should be seriously punished. Even if you do not earn enough, you are not entitled to abandon or neglect your child,” he said.
Mr Isabirye added that parents should stop leaving their children suffering because this affects their development and that some start to get involved in bad habits along the way.
Ms Firida Namyalo, the chairperson of Mpunge Sub County, said parents have abandoned their children leaving them to be abused in the community during Covid-19. She called upon the government to act on such parents.
Mr Emmanuel Mbonye, the Board Chairman of Bethany Village and African Renewal Ministries, a non-governmental organisation for children, said abandonment of children is at 30 per cent and child neglect at 50 per cent. He said this is mostly in the lakeshore areas and islands in Mpata, Mukono District.
“Most of the parents lost their jobs including those who depended on fish farming since such activities were banned by the government during the lockdown. This led to parents, especially fathers, to flee their homes since they could not manage to care for the family members,” he noted.
He also said peer pressure has caused child abandonment, noting that there are so many separated families in Mpata Sub County.
Mr Mbonye added that because of this, they have started skilling single parents to enable them to earn a living and support their families
