Mbarara sees increase of child hawkers during lockdown

A child vends vegetables near Ntungamo central market on Easter Sunday April 12. PHOTO BY PEREZ RUMANZI.

What you need to know:

  • Mr Abass Kazibwe, the Kakoba division chairperson, says they have been sensitising parents against sending children to do business on the streets but some have not heeded the advice.

Children selling food stuffs such as tomatoes, onions, carrots and fruits have become a common sight on the streets of Mbarara Town.

Some of the children told Daily Monitor on May 29 that since they are not going to school because of the lockdown, vending and hawking keeps them busy.

Others said they were helping their parents who stopped due to fear of being arrested for going against the government directives.

“My mother says if she moves around town selling tomatoes she will be arrested. She advised me that once law enforcers try to arrest me, I should lie on the ground, cry and tell them that I have not eaten for two days,” said one of the children from Katete Ward in Nyamitanga Division.

“Even when we were at school, when we returned home in the evening, together with brother and sister, we would come to town to sell fruits and sweet bananas,” Another child hawker said.

Ms Jovia Matsiko, a human rights defender in Mbarara, says even if they are facing economic hardships, parents should not risk their children’s lives.

“It is not only just about fear of contracting Covid-19, these children risk being sexually abused and recruited into criminal gangs,” Ms Matsiko said.

Mr Abass Kazibwe, the Kakoba Division chairperson, says they have been sensitising parents against sending children to do business on the streets but some have not heeded the advice.

“Some of these start as vendors. When they get used to money they refuse to return to their homes,” says Mr Kazibwe.

Ms Kellen Ayebazibwe, the district inspector of schools in Mbarara, says the parents of these children should be arrested not only for the acts of child abuse and child labour, but also contravening Ministry of Health guidelines and presidential directives.

“Letting children to mingle with everyone on streets is risky. They can easily take the virus to school. We are going to work with authorities to see that parents who cannot keep their children at home are arrested and prosecuted,” she said.

Measures
Sensitisation
Mr Abass Kazibwe, the Kakoba division chairperson, says they have been sensitising parents against sending children to do business on the streets but some have not heeded the advice.