On “Is Detention the Solution for Children in Conflict With the Law for Uganda?”

Thanks Bimeny, i agree that criminal prosecution of juvenile offenders has not helped much to reform them. Most of the cases reported n brought to court in Uganda are minor acts which are normal behaviour of maturation and do not necessarily warrant criminal prosecution. Continued condemnation of such behaviour through criminal prosecution and sentences to juvenile detention centres has made hearts of these juveniles hardened and have turned into hard core criminals.
Detention centers have turned into breeding grounds for criminals for they lack the capacity to rehabilitate the detained juveniles.
I can share. An experience of a juvenile in my jurisdiction who had been sent to a detention center for 6 times of different minor offences but in all these occasions he would escape and go back to his home before finishing the sentence and commit more crimes.
He is now of age and in June he was brought to court on new charges of simple robbery with a gang of other 6 criminals
This is a clear indication that the justice system has failed to rehabilitate him and he has graduated into a hard criminal.he sees criminality as a way of life.
There is need to build structures and restore parental and society responsibility towards protection of children other than condemning them through trial.
More so in sexual offences the child justice system concentrates more on the accused than the victim and in turn the trauma that the victim endures makes them to become irresponsible and I turn resort to criminality

We need to overhaul the child justice system