According to the Mubende district community development officer Maria Ndagire, they are facing a challenge of a place where they can detain the children below the age of 18 years and most of the time, they are put in custody with the old inmates which she says is not good.
Mubende district
is looking for over 98 million Shillings to construct a juvenile centre and a
reception centre for children below the age of 18 years.
According to the Mubende district community development officer Maria Ndagire, they are
facing a challenge of a place where they can detain the children below the age
of 18 years and most of the time, they are put in custody with the old
inmates which she says is not good.
Ndagire says
that they receive 6 to 10 cases of children who have committed different offences in a month but they do not have where to detain them from in Mubende district.
Lug.
//Cue in: “Tulina
okusomozebwa…
Cue out…mu
police cells.”//
Eng.
//Cue in: “As
mubende district we…
Cue out…they
come out when they are worse off.”//
Ndagire says that
this has forced them as a district to look for money so that they can
construct a juvenile and reception centre for the young children so
that they can separate them from the adults in cells, and that they got space
at Mubende police station.
Lug.
//Cue in: “DPC
yafuna space…
Cue out…nga
tebatataganyizibwa.”//
Eng.
//Cue in: “We
need to construct …
Cue out…once
this centre is constructed.”//
The Mubende
district probation officer Mariam Nagawa says that most of the children are
influenced by some old people to do the bad acts and others learn the bad acts
on televisions and start practising them. Also, too much domestic
violence has led to some children to run away and go to streets and start the
bad behaviours.
//Cue in: “Abaana
baba infuluensinga…
Cue out…nebalaba
ebikolwa ebikolebwayo.”//
Ndagire says
that when they complete the construction of this Juvenile centre they are going
to use it to for counselling and helping the juveniles so they can lead good life and also reduce the rate of crime.
//Cue in: “Tulowooza
nti…
Cue out…nga Mubende district.”//
Nagawa says that
they get a lot of cases of this nature during holidays when the children are
back from schools and that also in this period of covid cases are high.
//Cue in: “Kisinziira
kumwezi…
Cue out…then
tubazeeyo.”//
When The juvenile centre is constructed it will be the newest in the country after Fort Portal, Gulu, Naguru, Mbale and Kampiringisa a National
Rehabilitation Centre.
Mayengo Godfrey
Freelancer