Parents in Moroto District have been accused of conniving with suspects to frustrate defilement cases in exchange for bride price.
District authorities say they are concerned that many girls have been forced to marry while others are being defiled but most of the cases go unreported as parents prefer to settle the cases with the suspects and their families.
It is alleged that when parents discover their daughters have reached puberty, they force them to get married regardless of how old the husband may be so long as they give them cows.
According to William Lochodo the Senior Probation and Welfare Officer for Moroto district, poverty has forced parents to accept small bribes from suspected defilers to kill the case and the victim is denied justice.
Lochodo adds that the practice has frustrated their effort to have the suspects punished because they commit crimes and use the money to convince parents to conceal the information.
He noted that tracing defilement cases has become hard because parents are not willing to share the information.
"We only receive cases of defilement when the suspects have failed to negotiate with the parents of the victim and by the time they come to us, the suspect would have already taken off, and tracing becomes a challenge," Lochodo said.
Joseph Onyang, the Sub County Chief for Katikekile says that there is a need to embark on community engagement to sensitize them about the value of educating the girl child in society.
Michael Longole, the Mt Moroto regional police spokesperson acknowledged that child sexual-related offenses have been rampant in 2022. He said police registered 162 cases of defilement in the Mt Moroto region.
Longole observed that in the month of August, the defilement cases reduced to two but surprisingly shot up to 26 and 27 for September and October respectively.
