Prime
Stop injustices against children
Kawempe residents look at the destroyed shrine of Musa Bogere a witch doctor in Kawempe who was arrested with eight other suspects for child sacrifice. Photo by Joseph Kiggundu
A few days ago I was watching a BBC documentary about child sacrifice in Uganda, and as many people do, I take this matter very close to my heart and wonder what serious steps are taken to stop this ghastly and most hideous act towards children who have no power to defend themselves.
There are two partners in crime in the case of child sacrifice, both governed by one thing: Greed! A group who thinks by committing such crimes they will become wealthy and healthy, and others who reap from shedding the blood of innocent children. How long will the institutions that claim doing everything for the education of children and securing a better future for them, remain dormant? How long will the law remain lenient on human beasts?
As if children living in our turbulent world are not faced with enough challenges sometimes from the closest people to them. In America, a father who was separated from his wife and who had lost his little girl when she was raped and beaten to death by her mother’s new partner, was screaming in court asking for justice for his daughter who according to him, had many more years to live. The same report indicated that 2500 children in the United States die every year in cases related to child abuse.
The cases of child trafficking around the world for financial gains such as organ theft and prostitution are also on the rise, this has now reached epic proportions and as a result, the world is now even a harder place for orphans and abandoned children. Lack of trust means that many legitimate and willing parents who want to lawfully adopt these children, families who either cannot have children of their own or have the financial and moral capacity to welcome more children into their homes, have to wait for many years till they get a chance for a full adoption. Many lost years that could have been spent educating a child and offering him/her love and warmth.
Human beings need love and education to develop into decent people, material education alone is not enough there is need for spiritual education, one that focuses on morals, if left unattended, will become like uncultivated land full of weeds and thorns. Without proper education, immoral and animal instincts will take over the otherwise noble manners human beings should possess. Lack of these morals means people who commit such atrocities towards defenseless children, will continue doing what they think is good for them without shame or remorse.
If families of such criminals did not manage to educate them, the long arm of the law should stretch even further, the institutions should set laws so strict that they may deter any future barbaric acts against children. This might help to make child sacrifice in Uganda a chapter in history, one we should close forever. In the BBC report, I would have preferred to hear about our mountains and rivers, our national parks, about our kind people and the perfect weather, but then focusing on this particular issue- from any source it may come- should only awaken in us the sense of urgency in tackling this matter that we can no longer sweep under the carpet.
