By URN
The police in the Albertine are bothered by the escalating cases of defilement being recorded in the region.
Statistics at the Albertine regional police headquarters indicate that, 59 defilement cases were registered in the area in September.
According to the statistics, the region recorded 22 aggravated defilement cases and 41 simple defilement cases.
In the statistics, Kagadi topped with 11 cases followed by Kiryandongo that had 10 cases while Kikuube also had10 cases.
The statistics further revealed that Kakumiro recorded 8 cases, Buliisa 8 cases, Hoima registered 4 cases while Kibaale had 4 cases and Hoima city had 2 cases among others.
Julius Hakiza, the Albertine region police spokesperson states that most defilement cases in the region are being recorded in Refugee host districts. He says the number could be much more since some of the cases are not being reported to police.
Hakiza has appealed to leaders and stakeholders in the region to become change agents and work at eradicating the vice.
Ali Tinkamanyire, the Buseruka sub county LC3 Chairperson says the vice is high in his area especially along the shores of lake Albert.
He adds that young girls in the area are engaging in sex work to get money for food since their parents aren’t providing.
Felix Ongi, the Bombo sub county LCV Councilor has tasked parents to ensure that their girl children are at school and also ensure they provide for them the required necessities.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 lock down, police in the Albertine raised a red flag over the escalation of defilement cases.
Statistics from the regional Criminal Investigations Department then showed that 191 defilement cases were recorded between March and May of 2020.
The statistics then revealed that 81 suspects were taken to court and charged accordingly while the remaining cases were still under investigations.
According to the breakdown then, 20 cases were reported in Kibaale, 34 in Kiryandongo, 16 in Buliisa, 21 in Kakumiro, 22 in Masindi, 20 in Hoima, 27 in Kikuube and 31 in Kagadi.
According to the police report then, some of the teenagers were forced into marriage by their parents who wanted to make quick money from defilers.
According to a survey conducted by Makerere University School of Public Health between September 2021 and October 2022, Bunyoro and Tooro are the leading regions in teenage pregnancies in Uganda.
The survey revealed that Bunyoro alone registered 29,234 cases of early pregnancies among girls aged between 15-19 years in 2022, up from 25,054 in 2021, with the most affected districts being Kikuube, Kibaale, and Kagadi.
