MASINDI: Police officers in Masindi district could face murder charges or conspiracy to murder a delinquent young boy who had been placed under their guard, The Sunrise can reveal.

Innocent Kirungi, 14, had been taken to Ihungu remand home in Masindi Town on December 2, 2009 by his parents because of delinquent behavior, in the hope that he could be transferred to the national juvenile remand home in Kampiringisa, Mpigi district.

Platform for Labour Action (PLA) a Ugandan organization specializing in protecting children rights has lodged a complaint with Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) about this apparent gross violation of children rights, told The Sunrise that on the third day at the remand home, Kirungi together with fellow inmates were 'hired out' by one David Abitekaniza, a police officer to go and perform hard labour on his farm.

Anita Kiddu Muhanguzi, PLA's Legal and Advocacy Officer told The Sunrise that while at the farm, Kirungi did not measure up to the requirements of the hard labour which led to the supervisor who is also the matron of the remand home Rose Mpeirwe to order that he gets whipped by fellow juvenile inmates.

According to PLA, Kirungi was reportedly beaten into coma and buried alive on December 5, 2009. However his burial was witnessed by children who reported it to locals.

Kiddu, says that on hearing about the incident, her organization dispatched a legal team to Masindi District where they spent two days meeting with and interviewing the people responsible or with knowledge of the incident.

She narrated that children who witnessed the horrible beating, reported the matter to village authorities who stormed Abitekaniza's farm to have the boy's body exhumed.

According to the PLA, the villagers failed to gain access to Abitekaniza's farm after he threatened them with criminal tress pass. However, the next day, the villagers over came the resistance and went ahead to exhume the body.

And according to PLA, witnesses heard Mpeirwe say that: "Innocent [Kirungi], yesterday we buried you alive, today we will burry you dead."

To pre-empt accusations of murder, PLA says that the Mpeirwe informed Milton Mugungu Mugisha, the probation and Social Welfare Officer about the boy's death, but told the grand parent that the boy had instead died from an asthma attack.

Mugisha reportedly took Kirungi's body to his grandmother and told her about the asthma attack. However the grandmother is reported to have rejected the body when she spotted bruises on deceased's body. She then ordered for a post-mortem after she saw bruises on the deceased's body.

PLA further recounts that the results of the post-mortem showed that Kirungi had sustained severe beatings and breakage of ribs before he died.

However, PLA's Kiddu, said that attempts to get the police officer Abitekaniza's own account fell through when because he rebuffed their calls.

"Our staff spoke with Abitekaniza on phone on several occasions but were rebuffed. He refused to meet with our staff to explain his side of the story which in our own interpretation was an act of deliberate concealing of information," said Kiddu.

Kiddu added that after analyzing the facts discovered in its investigation, PLA with other organizations in the coalition decided to file a civil lawsuit against the individual bad actors implicated in the crime. "While they have committed crimes, they also have committed torts, or civil wrongs, for which they must be held liable" a visibly determined Kiddu emphasized.

But the organization adds that the case points to what appears to be a deep seated problem of gross violation of children rights.

"The officers sacrifice the good psycho-social well being of the kids by subjecting them to such kind of torture" Added Kiddu.

PLA has teamed up with another child rights NGO - the African Network for the Prevention Against Child Abuse and Negler [ANPPCAN-Uganda] to pursue the matter and ensure that the police officers get their day in court.
 
PLA Executive Director Lillian Keene Mugerwa however re-affirmed that the case is just one of the many measures being pursued by her organization in a broader campaign in which the coalition will study the national and local remand homes, learn about various problems and violations committed by officers in charge of remand homes.

When The Sunrise contacted the Police Spokesperson Judith Nabakooba, she declined to confirm or deny PLA's claims that a police officer was involved in the murder of Kirungi.

She however said the case could have been reported to the force's Human Resources Directorate or the CID. Attempts to speak to the head of CID Moses Sakira proved futile as he was not picking his phone.
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