By Jennifer Acheng
The police in Kotido district have been faulted for continuously frustrating the fight against teenage pregnancies and child marriage.
The issue was raised recently during the roll out of the 2nd national strategy to end child marriage and teenage pregnancies in Kotido.
Ambrose Onoria the Kotido resident district commissioner during the meeting blamed the police for frustrating the fight against the vice. Onoria in his submission challenged the police to provide details of how many of the suspects involved in defiling young children have been convicted so far.
Rose molly Akudo a GBV response officer said often times, cases are reported to police but due to corruption, the suspects are released to go freely while the victims are left helpless
Sande Alex from the ministry of gender labor and social development while presenting the drivers of child marriage and teenage pregnancies said there are few implementation policies and laws protecting children.
In response to the issues, Corporal Geoffrey Mukota CID attached to Kotido central police station said they have often had challenges investigating cases as complainants sometimes strike deals with the suspects, which ends up jeopardizing investigations.
The OC station, Kotido central police station Samuel Nuwataho said they have always done everything within their means to send suspects to courts of law. He however, admits that much as they have errant officers, complainants should report them to the administrators. He further blamed complainants for not following up on the cases
