DOC/OS(XXXIII)/324c/II
production, mushrooms, gardening. Radio and newspapers were allowed and women could
have personal activities including sports in the afternoon (14.30 — 16.30). However, women
complained of being locked-up too much. Those who have activities are allowed outside in
the afternoon, others from 7.00 to 11.30 only, for lack of staff. They also have to eat inside.
Juveniles
There is no special court for juveniles.
According to art. 34 (6) of the Constitution: "a child offender who is kept in lawful custody or
detention shall be kept separately from adult offenders". However, this is not always the
case, particularly as girls are concerned. There were for instance a few juveniles detained at
Luzira, allegedly for lack of screening facilities at Mulago hospital and others at Ihungu local
administration prison, for which no clear explanation could be given. There were two very
young girls of 15 and 16 years of age in Kakiika women section. Juveniles in Luzira Upper
prison were kept in a ward which they shared with elderly people, ward leaders and religious
leaders. There were 15 of them on the day of the visit, the youngest was 15. Some of them
had been victims of sexual assaults by other prisoners. They complained of being far from
their families and mentioned drug problems. Their reports of being victims of sexual assaults
did not receive attention from prison authorities.
The delegation visited Nagguru remand home, which housed 134 juveniles, out of which
seven were girls. The initial capacity of the building, built in 1954 was 45. A majority was
charged with capital offences, including defilement (50 cases). According to the officer in
charge, the youngest was 12 years old. However, the delegation met with a 10 or 11 years
old boy; who was there not because he had committed an offence, but was placed there for
protection. Some were more than 18, but it was deemed preferable to keep them in this
institution.
Once convicted, juveniles will be transferred to a rehabilitation centre.
A number of programmes have been set-up for these juveniles:
Escorting them to court
Counselling services for new-comers, sick people and those who have spent a long
time on remand or the convicted. The purpose is to make them cooperate with the institution.
Family tracing and resettlement (which involves determining where they were staying
before imprisonment and what problems they faced). This is conducted in cooperation with
an NGO known as "Give me a chance".
Training in life skills such as carpentry, needle, art, etc.
Moral and spiritual rehabilitation
Formal education at primary school level. However, they did not pass tests as they
did not take all the syllabus, since they didn't stay in the Centre for long periods.
Gardening
The children received three meals a day. They requested that their diet be changed. They
did not get meat, except on celebration days. The main problem in the centre are, according
to the officer in charge, understaffing and overstaying. The maximum period should be six
months, but some have been here for more than a year. A boy facing a capital charge had
been there for two years, despite the rule saying that the maximum remand period in such
case should be three months. The situation had improved during the past year, with the help
of a legal aid clinic which gave legal representation to capital offenders. However, children
complained of these lengthy remand periods. Some had not been presented to Court since
they were charged.
16
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