"Stop giving money to street children,” Minister Kyofatogabye appeals to the public
The Minister of State for Kampala Capital City And Metropolitan Affairs, Kabuye Kyofatogabye has appealed to the public to stop giving money to street children.
The state minister said that giving money to child beggars on the streets encourages the vice that the government is struggling to put an end to.
Keep Reading
“Government appeals to the public to stop giving money to street children in a bid to discourage them from returning to the street,” Kyofatogabye said.
“I urge all kind-hearted Ugandans to think twice about giving money directly to the begging children. That coin or note you give is what keeps the child on the street, to the benefit of the trafficker who rides on your sympathy and to the detriment of the child,” he added.
His comments come days after the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) carried out an operation around the city on Wednesday that saw at least 194 children taken off the streets.
According to Minister, the children were mainly from Karamoja and will now be rehabilitated and taken back to their families.
Kyofatogabye said that these were picked from Wandegeya, Kabalagala and Jinja Road.
“They will be transported to Kobulin Youth Skills Centre in Napak District for counselling and rehabilitation. They will later be reunited with their families,” the minister said.
This website understands that Kobulin is a government rehabilitation centre that is overseen by the Ministry of Gender in Napak. It mainly serves the North-Eastern region.
KCCA believes that not giving these children money will save them from abuse and child trafficking, as most of them are forced on the streets by traffickers who use them to beg for money.
Kyofatogabye said that they had established that the mothers of these children give them up to be used as beggars on the streets and traffickers pay Shs5000 per day.
KCCA said that there is cheap accommodation in Katwe, Kisenyi and Makindye that is mainly operated by Karimojong, which makes it easier for the children to stay in Kampala at minimal costs.
“Child begging is controlled by cartels and mafias that operate unchecked in various parts of the country, at least 6 of these traffickers have been arrested and persecuted,” Kyofatogabye said.
In 2019, KCCA passed the Kampala Child Protection Ordinance 2019 which criminalises children loitering in public places, begging or soliciting, giving money (handouts) to street beggars, vending or hawking, and bans the sale of alcohol and drugs to children. The ordinance is however yet to be gazetted.
