By Gladys Kigozi

The Court of Appeal judge, Justice Catherine Bamugemeire, has called on the public to raise children as a community in order to promote children’s rights.

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Justice Bamugemeire said courts countrywide are overwhelmed by cases of child abuses like defilement, child torture, child neglect among others committed during the Covid-19 lockdown and that some perpetrators are parents, relatives or neighbours to the victims, saying many children are in a dilemma.

“There is a need to raise children as a community as it was done in the past if we are to have a society which is free from cases of child abuse, In the past, it was everyone’s responsibility to protect a child in the village, and cases of defilement, child neglect were unheard of,” Bamugemeire said.

She made this call during the Annual Uganda Christian University’s public lecture which was held on Wednesday under the theme, Christian Family in the Postmodern Era.

She advised parents to ensure that there is stability in homes to help children to have a secure and bright future, adding that children suffer a lot when their parents divorce and is the primary cause of child abuse.

The Kyaggwe County chief (Ssekiboobo), Mr Elijah Bogere Lubanga, expressed dismay over the increasing number of girls being impregnated, especially in the Covid-19 lockdowns.

“Kyaggwe County has been sponsoring 127 girls aged between 13 and 16 in various schools. On a sad note, all of them are now pregnant,” Mr Lubanga said.

He cited child labour as one of the major causes of the problems.

“When girls move out to do the vending, that’s where they find men who defile them and do all the other forms of abuse,” he said.

He also called on the parents to be more responsible and caring as it was in the past in order to save the future generation.

Hon Johnson Muyanja Ssenyonga, the former Chairman of the Buganda Parliamentary Cauncas, said in order to promote children’s rights, parents need to find time to raise and take care of their children as it was in the past.

He said parents in this modern era value money more than their children and that’s why they leave everything concerning kids in the hands of the maids and relatives who end up abusing these children’s rights.

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