Ssese Health Effort for Development, a community based organisation and Police in the Central district of Kalangala, have launched a joint campaign to fight acts of homosexuality and sodomy in schools.

The campaign was launched recently at the district headquarters after the arrest of a male nursery teacher, Herman Jingo, 30, for allegedly sodomising a 10-year-old pupil of Mulabana Multi-grade Primary School in Bujumba Sub-county.

The Kalangala District Intelligence Officer, Nathan Balabyeki, said Herman Jingo, a nursery teacher of Sunlight Junior School at Mulabana-Kyagalanyi landing site, was arrested after the mother of the boy reported the case to Mulabana Police Post.

"The teacher was arrested and charged with having carnal knowledge of a person against the order of nature," Nathan Balabyeki said.
The Executive Director of Ssese Health Efforts for Development, Fred Tamale, said they worked closely with Police who arrested the teacher although local leaders in Bujumba Sub-county had tried to protect him.

He urged local leaders to fight acts of sodomy and defilement, which violate the rights of children.
According to Tamale, since June this year about 37 defilement cases and one of sodomy have been reported at their Kalangala office.

"Some cases are not reported to Police and the few that are reported are never prosecuted in court due to lack of a special doctor who can examine the children who have been sexually abused," he said.
The mother of the boy, Sylvia Nambuule, said she had sent her son to collect sweet potatoes from the garden, but on his way back, the boy met the accused who sent him to buy air time for him. On coming back, the teacher allegedly dragged the boy into his house and sodomized him.

Kalangala resident state prosecutor, Arthur Masaba, said the district lacks a chief magistrate who is mandated to prosecute cases of defilement. He explained that some cases of defilement are either
delayed or dismissed because they are not accompanied by medical reports made by a professional doctor, which make it very difficult to prosecute such cases.

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