Over 13, 000 children defiled, 300 infected with HIV in 2023 - report
The Inspector General of Police, Mr Martin Okoth Ochola, signs a dummy of the Police Crime report for 2023 on Wednesday.
What you need to know:
- Out of the total victims, 12, 818 were females while 326 were males. 97 of these were defiled by parents, 90 by guardians and 211 were defiled by their teachers. Defilement victims with disabilities were 131.
The latest police crime report has revealed that a total of 13, 144 juveniles were defiled in 2023, of whom 383 were defiled by persons living with HIV/AIDs.
Out of the total victims, 12, 818 were females while 326 were males. 97 of these were defiled by parents, 90 by guardians and 211 were defiled by their teachers. Defilement victims with disabilities were 131.
“A total of 12,771 cases of defilement were reported to police in 2023, compared to 12,580 cases reported in 2022, giving an increase by 1.5 per cent in defilement cases registered countrywide. Of the defilement cases reported in 2023, 8,925 cases were defilement while 3,846 cases were aggravated defilement,” the police report reads in part.
“5,564 cases were taken to Court, 2,402 cases were not proceeded with while 4,805 cases are still under inquiry. Out of the cases taken to Court, 940 cases secured convictions, 38 cases were acquitted, 414 cases were dismissed and 4,172 cases are still pending,” it adds.
The report further adds that a total of 5,671 defilement suspects were arrested and charged to court, out of whom, 982 were convicted, 56 were acquitted and 400 were discharged, while 4,233 are still awaiting trial.
“A total of 3,846 cases reported to police were aggravated defilement compared to 3,620 cases reported in 2022, giving a 6.2 per cent increase,” it added.
In 2023, Mukono police division registered the highest number of aggravated defilement cases with 111 cases, followed by Luwero District with 99 cases, Katwe (91) while Mpigi and Mubende registered 75 and 64 cases, respectively.
Regionally, Greater Masaka registered the highest cases of aggravated defilement with 308 cases followed by Kampala Metropolitan Police (KMP) North with 267 cases, KMP East with 256 cases and KMP South with 234 cases.
Meanwhile, a total of 14,846 sex-related crimes countrywide were reported to Police in 2023, an increase of 1.4 per cent of the 14,693 similar cases reported in 2022.
Other cases included rape, where a total of 1,577 cases were reported to police in 2023 compared to 1,623 cases reported in 2022, giving a decrease of 2.8 per cent
According to the police report, 625 cases of rape were taken to court; “out of which 30 cases secured convictions, 4 cases were acquitted, 17 were dismissed while 574 cases are still pending in court.”
“A total of 1,395 female adults and 171 female Juveniles were victims of rape. 661 suspects of rape were charged in Court, 31 were convicted, while 610 are still awaiting trial,” it added.
Police noted that Katwe Police Division registered the highest number of rape cases in 2023 with 52 cases, followed by Yumbe District with 34 cases, Kira Division (29), Tororo District (28) and Mukono District with 27 cases.
Police also registered 299 cases of indecent assault, 160 unnatural offences and 39 incest cases.
