By Mercy Agumenaitwe and Brave Tumuranzye,
KAMPALA
The police have arrested and charged one suspect for alleg3dly defiling a 3-year-old female pupil in Kampala.
The suspect is Belly Kirimwimana, Burundian National and a teacher at Ambrosoli International School, Bugolobi, Kampala.
Kirimwimana allegedly committed the act between the month of February and March, when he would escort the victim (identity protected) to the toilets, where he could use his fingers to inappropriately assault sexually the victim.
Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson has said that reported the Teacher’s gross misconduct to her parents who later reported the matter to police.
He noted that upon examination, the victim was found with bruises and signs of inflammation on her private parts.
Enanga also said that the victim in some of her words she indicated that “And since the teacher had bad manners, he will be eaten by a dragon”.
Police now say that the suspect could have victimized several other pupils urging parents to sit-talk their children to find out whether they have also been victimized.
“We are concerned that more children could have been victimized by teacher Belly Kirimwimana, and do call upon parents and the school administrators to try to talk to the children on whether they could have been victimized by the suspect or not.” Says Enanga
The suspect was on Friday produced befire the Directorate of Criminal Investigation Department(CID) which charged him for aggrevated defilement and further remanded him to prison unt May 24.
Police has asked all school proprietors and administrators to adopt best practices that promote the safety and welfare of children at school.
“They should always comply with law, by reporting all incidents of child sexual abuse, so that no teacher escapes from credible allegations of child abuse. In addition, thorough background checks are a must to ensure teachers with poor records are not hired”, urged police
They added; “It is also necessary to establish and enforce rules, offer training and provide reminders about high risk situations. Pupils or school children should never be left alone with a teacher or other staff in a private room, car or toilet etc. Training bystanders and empowering them to keep watch over suspicious patterns is also relevant.”
Enanga says teachers should also be trained on how to identify and report child abuse to child protection authorities like Doctors, Police, Social Service Agencies and child rights defenders among others since they are the people who are constantly in touch with school children, and most likely notice the bruises, poor hygiene, the dejection, and unexplained absences that can be tell-tale signs of mistreatment of all kinds.
In addition, police has mentioned other common forms of child abuse in schools including use of inappropriate language, sexually exploit imagery, prolonged hugging, fondling, inappropriate kissing on the forehead and inappropriate complimenting among others.
Enanga has commended the victim’s parents for reporting the matter to police, and the school administrators for cooperating with police stating that it showed that the school’s first priority are the pupils.
