DEO wants Primary Seven pupil defilement case reinstated

JINJA. The Jinja District Education Officer (DEO), Mr Paul Baliraine, wants a defilement case against a teacher reinstated to enable the victim get justice.
Mr Baliraine says he received a letter from the Head teacher of Lwanda Primary School, accusing one of his teachers, Mr Joel Buyala of defiling a 13-year-old Primary Seven pupil (names withheld).
The crime reportedly happened last year immediately after the victim had sat for her Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE).
On November 6, 2017, Mr Baliraine wrote to the Jinja District police commander, requesting him to ‘pick interest in the case and bring justice to the victim and her family’.

“The Resident Senior State Attorney (RSA) wrote to us saying he brought the victim’s parent and the accused together and they agreed,” Mr Baliraine said.
He added: “That the parent has lost interest in the case, saying it should not continue. We just can’t allow the case to be dropped because the complainant agreed with the suspect.”

On July 25, 2018, the Jinja Chief Administrative Officer, Mr William Kanyesigye, wrote to the RSSA, saying the case is of public concern and dropping it would test public confidence in the judicial process.
“As a custodian of public trust/hope in the district, I hold a strong belief that there is a case to answer and, therefore, the culprit should be brought to book,” Mr Kanyesigye’s letter reads in part.
“I, therefore, write to express interest in the case and request for its reinstatement. I request that all evidence adduced by police be presented to you,’’ it concludes.
Mr Baliraine, however, says three months since the letter was written, there has been no response to-date.

Interdiction
Mr Buyala was interdicted on November 10, 2017 in a correspondence signed by Mr Kanyesigye.
“The letter was written and copied to the Principal Judge because having interdicted Mr Buyala, we now want him arraigned in court because we feel he cannot come back and teach children,’’ Mr Baliraine said.
Mr Baliraine added: “How shall we discipline others? Parents are compromised with, say, Shs200, 000. What is the future of that girl?”
A police report dated June 20, 2018, says the girl was defiled on November 4, 2017 and the case was reported to Lwanda Police Post by the mother, Ms Lydia Namuganza under file number SD: 06/04/11/2017.

“We concluded our investigations, the case papers were submitted to the Jinja RSA for legal advice and were returned with instructions to close and put away,” a letter to the DEO signed by the officer in-charge of Criminal Investigations Department, Mr Isaiah Igumira, reads in part.
It adds: “The complainant together with the victim appeared before the RSSA and withdrew the case against the suspect.”
The officer-in-charge of Children and Family Protection Unit at Jinja Central Police Station, Ms Lydia Birungi, said once parents withdraw cases, it is difficult for the victims to testify and advance the case.

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