Find new tactics to rid roads of street children – Daily Monitor

When a problem rears its ugly head over and again, it is clear that a different solution from the past ones needs to be employed in fixing it.

The problem of street children on the streets in Kampala has been around for years and persists regardless of the methods the authorities use.

Kampala City Authority must be commended for working towards managing the problem. On June 8, the Authority launched the Kampala Capital City Child Protection Ordinance 2022. It states that it is a crime to send a child to beg or solicit for alms in a public place, street, building, office or any business or commercial establishment and no person should live off the proceeds of a child engaged in begging or soliciting for alms. Any person found to be doing so shall be imprisoned for six months or pay a fine of two currency points (about Shs40,000).

The Authority has gone ahead to implement this law. In mid-August, four people were held and arrested in connection with child trafficking. In addition to this almost 1,000 children have been removed from the street and sent to various rehabilitation centres. On August 26, a total of  25 women were arrested and remanded to Luzira until September 2.

It is clear that the Authority wants to solve this problem once and for all, by putting the criminals behind bars and by providing the children a better life. But, it seems, for every 10 children removed, 20 pour in; for every five suspects caught and sent to jail, 10 take their place.

This persistent problem shows that the root cause is deeper than the eye can see. It therefore means that the solution will take more than just arrests of suspects and removal of children.

The Authority needs to take the time to understand how the cycle works, and the different levels of people involved along the chain. It needs to understand why most of those involved are from a particular region, how much those behind it are making, if the children taken for rehabilitation are actually rehabilitated, if the suspects are indeed charged and convicted if found guilty and if they do spend time in prison – and very importantly, if imprisoning them actually works.

A whole group of people benefit from the sad state of these street children. It is going to take more than removing them off the streets every few weeks or months, to solve the problem.