Africa-Press – Uganda. Naguru Remand Home says it is overwhelmed by juvenile criminals who are graduating from petty theft to robbery and eventually becoming murderers
Remand home officials say the youngsters use pavers and other tools to dismember their victims.
While launching the prisoners rehabilitation programme with the Rotary Club of Upper Kololo on Friday, Ms Mary Kyomugisha, the officer-in-charge of the home, said the facility, which was established in 1954 to separate juvenile from adult criminals, currently houses children from as far as Kamuli, Buyende, Jinja, Nakasongola, Kiboga, Mubende, and Lyantonde on charges of petty theft, robbery and murder.
The overwhelming number has forced the Judiciary to gazette a special court to try the cases.
“We have a gazetted child-friendly High Court to ease children’s appearance in court. We have Justice Mutonyi and Justice Elubu. If a child appears before the judge and he or she is remorseful, they are released, but we have a challenge of reintegrating them with their parents who are rejecting them and the community which is hostile to these children,” she said.
Asked how many juveniles they have in their custody, she said they had 155 including three girls, 75 of those being held over petty crimes while the rest are facing capital offences.
She also said the number keeps fluctuating every day as they receive new entrants, while others are released and others are committed to the High Court for trial.
Orphan burden
Mr Robert Kagoro, a social worker at the home, said many of the victims are orphans heading families and as they go out to eke a living, they end up committing the crimes.
He said the last lot they had at the home for eight months were those who were using pavers on the Northern Bypass as weapons and were charged with aggravated robbery and murder after some were found to have killed people.
Mr Edward Kakembo Nsubuga, the Rotary District 9213 Governor, said the programme is their flagship project for the one-year term of office where they will be working with Churches, Mosques, LCs, police stations to curtail criminality among children aged six to 18 in communities.
“I have 120 Rotary Clubs under district 9213 and we have engaged all of them to concentrate on providing basic education and literacy as well as economic empowerment to the children out of school and those in Prison. It is only in Africa where children are detained and yet we have Churches and Mosques. Why is it that we have children as hardcore criminals,” he wondered.
Background
Ms Joyce Odoki, the President of the Rotart Club of Upper Kololo, said after doing a needs assessment of the requirements of the remand home last November, they came up with the economic and social development project in which they donated 500 chicks to the juveniles to start a poultry project.
“We wanted them to learn how to make money and also offer technical and mental health support because we found that most of the children are from broken families,’’ she said.
Mr Mondo Kyateeka, the commissioner of children’s affairs at the Ministry of Labour Gender and Social Development, who represented the Permanent Secretary of the line ministry, welcomed the partnership saying the government plans to build more remand homes.
“We have internally displaced parents who are too busy for themselves and the children are left on their own resorting to petty crimes, which should be handled by LC Courts. Children have been abandoned in justice reception centres. We are encouraging you to adopt some of these children,” he said.
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