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Over 1200 children in illegal care homes in Mukono – official
Mr Shafik Butanda, the probation and social welfare officer at the Ministry of Gender speaks to journalists in Mukono on Tuesday. Photo | Jessica Sabano
What you need to know:
- Mr James Ntege, the district senior probation officer, on Tuesday during a media briefing said that they have identified 24 children's homes that are operating illegally and have over 1200 children
Over 1200 children are staying in unapproved children's homes in Mukono, the district senior probation officer, has revealed.
Mr James Ntege on Tuesday during a media briefing said that they have identified 24 children's homes that are operating illegally and have over 1200 children.
“We only have 11 homes that are registered/approved but the rest are operating illegally and do not meet the requirements. We are going to find out how these unapproved homes got into recruiting children and the criteria they used, and then close them,” he said.
Mr Shafik Butanda the principal probation and social welfare officer from the Ministry of Gender said they are going to crack down on these homes on grounds that they pose a risk to children.
“We are going to close 24 illegal children's homes and send these children back to their parents’ homes. Where we fail to locate their parents, we shall engage foster parents and also take some to approved homes,” he said.
Mr Butanda said there are about 200 foster parents in the country and only 27 have children. He warned those who will try to reopen these homes after closure that they will be prosecuted.
He said Mukono is a pilot district for this exercise and emphasized that the Buganda region is leading in having children's homes at 80 per cent.
There are only 190 approved children's homes in Uganda with 9700 children, according to Mr Butanda.
