| At 7pm, 13-year
old, Nakku, in her dirty white and blue uniform, retired to her dormitory
on a Wednesday evening.
The exhausted little girl, carrying her books after a long day's class
work and play, relaxed in her dormitory as she prepared for the next day.
As soon as she lay down, Nakku noticed her teacher, Mr Stanley
Isabirye standing at the door of the dormitory, three strides away from
her bed. The teacher walked towards Nakku.
"Nakku my little pupil," the teacher called her, "Yes sir," she quickly
responded, jumping out of her bed where she was resting. She just knew her
night of canes had come, because Mr Isabirye is a tough teacher at
school.
"My heart sunk once because I did not know what Mr. Isabirye
wanted."
" To my surprise he asked me to go with him to his home and
help him to cook supper. But I answered very politely and in a very low
tone that it took him a minute to understand that I had never cooked
anywhere in my life," said Nakku.
Unfortunately for Nakku her teacher insisted he would teach her how to
cook and they would do it together.
The other young girls in the dormitory protested Isabirye's taking
Nakku to cook with him, but he commanded them to keep quiet.
"I was now shaking because Mr Isabirye had become tough and I could see
myself about to receive uncountable strokes of the cane," narrated Nakku.
"My friends looked on helplessly as I led the way to Mr Isabirye's house.
There was grave silence. I could only hear stamps of his footsteps but
could not make out what he was doing behind me. I had no option but to
walk to his house."
When Nakku reached Mr Isabirye's one-room house, the latter closed the
door behind them immediately.
There was no sign of smoke and fire, prompting her to imagine she was
going to be punished for something she did during the day.
"As I sat on the stool in his house, I patiently waited for the cooking
to start but he chose to go and undress in his bedroom. The bedroom was
separated from the sitting room by a transparent white curtain"
She explained that when the teacher came out of the bedroom, he told
her they were going to do "Things that fathers and mothers do in bed."
"Under great fear and shivers, I told him that I did not understand what
he meant," Nakku said.
"He pulled me off the stool, tore my small sized
blouse and skirt while I tried to resist,â She said.
"He over powered me, removed his 'black thing and put it in me' as I
helplessly struggled to get rid of him," she said in tears.
She said she raised an alarm that attracted other teachers in the
neighbourhood, to her rescue.
Nakku said although Isabirye tried to
cover her mouth with his palm, he never succeeded. "The alarm had already
raised attention."
She said fortunately for her, the defiler had forgotten to lock the
door, which created easy access for the angry rescuers to reach him. She
says the teacher was beaten and kicked badly until he fell off her onto
another bed.
With clothes in tatters, blood dripping from her private parts and
tears rolling uncontrollably down her cheeks, Nakku, a primary three
pupil, was rushed to Kayunga Hospital by her rescuers.
Nakku is not
alone. A number of young primary school girls throughout the country have
fallen and are continuing to fall victim to teachers and unruly men who
defile them.
Most defilement cases have been reported in upcountry schools. Mr
Edward Wangolo, the deputy headmaster of Shimoni Demonstration School,
says these cases occur sometimes because of redundancy among teachers.
However a teacher who declined to be identified, said that whereas
defilement is bad, teachers should not solely be blamed. "Some of the
defiled girls are actually big girls who entice teachers." Adding that "In
upcountry schools, big girls are sent to school to entice teachers by
laughing with them in a bid to get marks."
According to Ugandan law, defilement is a criminal case only handled by
High Court. As such, when someone is accused of defilement, Police
immediately apprehends him and produces him in the Magistrates court,
which commits him to High Court because it does not have jurisdiction over
such cases.
However Mr Wangolo argues that when a teacher is accused of defilement,
he is summoned to the School Management Committee, which interdicts him
pending investigations into the accusation. "Headmasters do not have the
powers to sack the teacher but the school management committee can suspend
him and when he is proven guilty, it recommends to the ministry to sack
him," explains Wangolo.
Wangolo says in cases where a teacher is suspected to be badly behaved
and is transferred to another school, the transferring authority informs
the administration of his new school about the teacher's behaviour and
character.
"In the case of Shimoni , Kampala City Council will inform the Shimoni
administration about the behaviour and character of the new teacher," says
Wangolo.
When asked if the school has sex education classes to sensitise pupils
on sexual matters Wangolo said,"Most schools have trained senior women
teachers for girls and a senior man teacher for boys. Children are
encouraged to speak to them about anything bothering them."
In Kibaale district, the education officer (DEO), Mr Cleophus Mugenyi
recently expressed concern over the increasing number of primary school
teachers defiling their pupils. He said more than 20 girls were defiled in
the district by their teachers every term.
"The 20 are only cases now reported to the Police. Such cases were not
common in the district in the past five years," Mugenyi said. He decried
the delays in prosecuting the suspects. "We cannot take disciplinary
measures like terminating the teachers' services because they are not
proved guilty. If prosecuted and found guilty, of course they would be
jailed and also deleted from our list," he said.
At Mukono district Police station, where we found Nakku, Police is
holding Mr. Stanley Isabirye the 28-year-old who allegedly defiled her.
Each passing day more and more cases of defilement are reported in the
media. These alarming defilement rates prevailing in the country have
irked non-government organization like the Action for Development
(Acfode). The Ministry of Education and Sports (MoE) in a move to stop
defilement in primary schools, has drafted a policy.
According to the policy. the ministry will dismiss teachers who defile
pupils or even those suspected."Once you are pin pointed in any indecent
assault or defilement case, we shall immediately strike you off the staff
list and leave the police to handle its part," Mr Nyombi Thembo, the
Minister of State for Education said.
Victimsâ names have been changed
Defilement Statistics
- According to Ms Rosemary Nyakikongoro advocacy officer with Acforde
between 2001 and 2003, 4,854 cases of defilement were reported to the
police.
- A 38-page report released by Save the Children, says 6,500 girls as
young as 8 are in captivity of the Lord's Resistance Army
- As a result of war there are more mothers mostly below 19
- Victims leave in fear and suffer in silence as they re-live their
horrendous experiences.
- Girls, 12 years of age and younger return pregnant
- In Uganda any person below 18 is considered a child. It is illegal
for anyone to have sexual relationships with him or her.
- Most defilement cases are pending in court and account for
approximately half of all High Court cases.
- Half of the inmates in central prisons are held pending trial for
defilement.
- The law does not make any legal distinction between a voluntary
sexual relationship between two teenagers and a brutal rape committed by
an adult.
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