Kamuli district officials are accusing parents of conniving with suspects to kill defilement cases in exchange for bride price.
The officials are concerned that many girls have been forced to marry while others are being defiled but most of the cases go unreported as parents prefer to settle the cases with the suspects and their families.
Michael Kasadha, the Busoga North Regional Police Spokesperson said Friday June 16, 2023 that a total of 207 cases of defilement were reported in Kamuli between January and May 2023.
He however explained that out of the 207 cases only 57 were taken to courts of law.
It has been established that when parents discover their daughters have been defiled, they look for ways of negotiating with the defilers for money.
In fact Kasadha says that some parents only want to use the police for bargain, something which is not the mandate of the law enforcers.
When some parents learn that the file is being processed, they sit with relatives of the suspect and ‘settle’ the matter.
Kasadha has however warned that this vice shall no longer be tolerated.
“Any parents who negotiates with a defiler to frustrate investigations and prosecution shall be arrested and arraigned in the court,” said Kasadha.
According to Kasadha, the practice has frustrated their effort to have the suspects punished because they commit crimes and use the money to convince parents to conceal the information.
He noted that tracing defilement cases becomes hard when parents are not willing to share the information.
“We only receive cases of defilement when the suspects have failed to negotiate with the parents of the victim and by the time they come to us, the suspect would have already taken off, and tracing becomes a challenge,” Kasadha said.
Interviewed for this story, Trevor Solomon Baleke, the Deputy RDC for Namayingo but born of Kamuli where he olds the Portfolio of NRM chairman for Wankole Subcounty, said there is a need to embark on community engagement to sensitize them about the value of educating the girl child in society.
Baleke who also is chairman of Buwala Primary School Management Committee revealed that it is only schools that can save young girls from being forced into marriage because it is a culture that has existed for a long time.
