Police in Kabale are struggling to
prosecute men involved in habitual Gender Based Violence because of low witness
turn up and women who keep following their husbands in custody to plead for
their release, this media house has learnt.
This was revealed by the Officer in
charge of Kabale Police, Family and Child Protection Unit, IP Margret
Kamiranga, while speaking at a Dialogue held at White Horse Inn Kabale, to
discuss Gender Based Violence in the District. The Dialogue was organized by
Local Sustainable Communities –LOSCO, a Kabale Based Non-Governmental
Organization involved in Environmental Activism and Human Rights Advocacy.
Ms Kamiranga revealed that from
January to November 2021, 202 cases of GBV were reported to her office, 17 were
taken to court but only one man was convicted and cautioned. 114 cases were
solved by reconciling the conflicting parties, while 71 cases were still
pending due to unfinished investigations.
She noted that her office was
prioritizing reconciliation by counselling married couples involved in Domestic
Violence while habitual offenders were being arrested and prosecuted in court
to prevent fatal cases.
Kamiranga however, explained that they
were challenged by cases in which they arrested violent men accused of beating
their wives nearly to death, but the victims later pleaded for the release of
their husbands. She explained that the women gave excuses that their husbands
are the sole breadwinners at home, and detaining them would put the families at
a risk of starvation.
Kamiranga added that most cases of GBV
were not reported by women who didn’t want their spouses arrested.
The Kabale Senior Probation Officer Monica Muhumuza Nnzeirwe also said that the other challenge faced while dealing with GBV was the refusal of witnesses to testify against offenders. Muhumuza explained that most GBV cases were not investigated to completion because the witnesses also avoided getting involved in long Police investigation processes .
The Local Sustainable Communities –LOSCO Executive Director Albert Taremwa called for strengthening of the law that gives protection to witnesses if GBV cases are to be tackled and consequently reduced. Mr. Taremwa asked Parliament to consider reviewing clauses of the law that offer maximum protection of witnesses because in some cases, the offenders were high profiled people in Government who use their positions to interfere with investigations.
Meanwhile, as Uganda joins the rest of the world in the campaign titled “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence,” an international campaign to challenge violence against women and girls, Government has acknowledged recording a high prevalence of teenage pregnancies and defilement cases, revealing that 649,955 teenage pregnancies were recorded between 2020 and 2021 in Uganda.
This was revealed by Vice President
Rtd Maj. Jesica Alupo, in a statement on the national campaign against
defilement, early marriages and failed parenthood that was today launched by
Government at Kololo Independence Grounds.
The Vice President said that since
March 2020, statistics show increased cases of defilement and teenage
pregnancies in the country and cited a study conducted by the United Nations
Population Fund.
The study found out that a total of
354,736 teenage pregnancies were registered in 2020, while 295,219 teenage
pregnancies were registered between January to September 2021. Among the
districts with the highest cases of teenage pregnancies included; Kamuli 6,535
Mayuge 6,205, Mukono 5,535 Wakiso 10,439 Rakai 2,711 Luwero 4,545 Kampala
8,460.
