Africa-Press – Uganda. Child rights activists have condemned President Museveni’s recent decision to pardon some of the prisoners who had been convicted of defilement.
Speaking on Thursday at the sidelines of a Child Protection Budget Advocacy meeting organised by Uganda Parliamentary Forum for Children Affairs, in partnership with ChildFund in Kampala, Mr Timothy Opobo, the executive director of AfriChild Centre said such actions undermine their efforts in the fight against child-sexual abuse.
“What message is he trying to convey? It sends a message that you can actually defile and be pardoned,” he opined.
Ms Tabitha Suubi, the programme manager, violence against children prevention at Raising Voices, said the decision may embolden sexual offenders.
A joint statement released by another section of human rights activists, including the Uganda Association for Women Lawyers (Fida), said the decision has “left anguish, pain and confusion among the women’s movement of Uganda.”
President Museveni recently pardoned 13 convicts, including former National Social Security Fund (NSSF) boss David Chandi Jamwa. While Mr Jamwa has been serving a 12-year jail term handed to him for causing the government financial loss, 11 of the 13 prisoners pardoned had been convicted for defilement.
Mr Opobo revealed that tens of thousands of children are sexually abused every year, with more others trafficked.
Moses Otai, the country director of Child Fund Uganda, also expressed concern that about 60 percent of children enrolled in primary school drop out before completing the cycle due to lack of inclusive and quality education.
“As you scrutinise the Budget, quality and inclusive education and justice for children should be allocated the funds that they deserve,” he advised the lawmakers, adding that the issue of street children should be decisively addressed too.
Mr Otai said anywhere between 2,000 and 5,000 children join the streets across the major cities in Uganda every month.
Mondo Kyateka, the assistant commissioner for youth and children’s affairs at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, confirmed that the money allocated to the ministry is insufficient.
“If you give me Shs20m to remove children off the streets of Uganda in a year, I will fail to work as expected. Cleaning the city is not about planting flowers,” he said.
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