Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has returned 156 children rescued from the streets of Kampala to school in Napak District, in a move aimed at protecting vulnerable children from exploitation and helping them rebuild their lives within their families and communities.

The children were part of a group of 213 vulnerable people taken back to Napak after receiving care and rehabilitation at Masulita Children’s Village in Wakiso District.

The 156 school-age children have been enrolled at Kalokengel Primary School, where they are expected to continue with formal education after being removed from street life in Kampala.

KCCA Executive Director Sharifah Buzeki said the return of the children to their home communities is intended to give them an opportunity to pursue education in a safer environment rather than remain exposed to exploitation on the streets.

The group returned to Napak also included 22 youths who have been placed in vocational skills training to help them acquire practical skills for their future livelihoods.

Meanwhile, 20 mothers and their 15 babies were retained at Napak Central Police Station pending production before court over allegations of using children to beg.

Buzeki warned people involved in recruiting children and transporting them to Kampala for begging that KCCA would pursue them through the law.

She said children should not be recruited, exploited or used as a means of generating income for adults.

KCCA says a significant number of children found begging on Kampala streets come from the Karamoja sub-region. According to the authority, some children are brought to the capital and placed in situations where they are expected to collect money through begging or engage in other forms of work.

In some cases, the children are reportedly expected to raise at least Shs5,000 each day, regardless of the conditions they face.

KCCA says its interventions have shown that many children found on the streets are not there voluntarily. Instead, some are allegedly recruited, transported and controlled by adults who benefit from their activities, including begging, hawking, casual labour and domestic work.

The problem has previously prompted KCCA to strengthen enforcement of the Kampala Capital City Child Protection Ordinance, 2022. The ordinance prohibits children from begging or soliciting for alms and also makes it an offence for people to benefit from money obtained through child begging.

The law also provides a framework for rescuing children found in vulnerable situations on the streets and placing them under the care of probation and social welfare authorities. KCCA has previously reported prosecuting adults accused of using children for begging and other exploitative activities.

Since January 2026, KCCA says it has rescued more than 718 unaccompanied and vulnerable children from Kampala streets.

The authority has been working with local governments and organisations, including the Uganda Women’s Effort to Save Orphans (UWESO), to provide assistance to rescued children. Support includes food, scholastic materials and other services intended to help children settle back into family and community life.

KCCA says simply removing children from Kampala streets is not enough to solve the problem. It argues that children who are returned to their communities need continued support to remain in school and avoid being brought back to the capital.

The authority has therefore appealed to parents and caregivers not to send or surrender children to Kampala for begging, hawking or street work.

Communities in Napak, other parts of Karamoja, Kisoro and other areas affected by the movement of vulnerable children have also been urged to report people suspected of recruiting or transporting children for exploitation.

KCCA is further calling on transport operators, landlords, market authorities, business owners and community leaders to alert authorities when they encounter adults suspected of recruiting, transporting, housing or profiting from children.

Members of the public have also been encouraged not to give money directly to children begging on Kampala streets. KCCA says that although such assistance may be intended to help, it can inadvertently sustain systems in which adults profit from children.

Instead, people who encounter children in distress or suspect cases of child exploitation or trafficking are encouraged to report them to KCCA, police, probation and social welfare officers or other authorised child protection agencies.

The return of the 156 children to Kalokengel Primary School marks another step in KCCA's efforts to move vulnerable children away from Kampala's streets and back into education and family environments.

For the children now returning to classrooms in Napak, the programme represents an opportunity to resume their education and grow up in communities where they can receive continued family and social support.