Ghetto hotspots and strongholds in the City are Achol-pii located at Te-Atat, CPS located at Kitgum stage, Lagoon behind Blue Valley, B13 in Kakoge, among other places.
Lira – January 18, 2022: The smart group of people in Lira City are stealing and doing the unthinkable, leaders of the Lira City ghetto squad has alleged.
While those in authority sometimes blame street children (ghetto squad), Martine Odur, their chairperson told TND News a different story.
Speaking to Our Reporter, Odur said, “There are thugs who belong to organized groups stealing and killing people in Lira but not street kids.”
“A street child cannot steal over ten million shillings and still sleeps in the ghetto,” he said, but confirmed that “Street children are still frightening the City by pickpocketing and stealing other small things.”
According to Odur he wants the squad full of children to reduce. In 2021, they opened a nursery bed at Tea-Alok in Lira City West Division where one of the ghetto strongholds is located.
The nursery bed has over 137 seedlings (pines, cashew nuts, citrus, mangoes) that are gradually changing their lives, their leader added.
He said some are undergoing vocational training to a point that others have started making their own money.
In December 2021, over 300 street children from the age of 10 – 24 were tested for HIV/AIDS. Odur could not disclose their test results.
“This was my initiative to find a better way of helping the ghetto squad health-wise,” he told TND News Doreen Acipa.
The current ghetto squad comprises majorly of youngsters (street children) in their early 20s and mid-20s. Few are above 30 years.
Under his leadership, 21 street children were reunited with their families; only seven (7) managed never to come back to the streets. The rest came back and relocated to different places.
“As much as some Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) are trying to take this children back to their families, how they are being welcomed and treated by the community is sending them back to the streets,” squad chair revealed.
According to him, some are being enrolled in schools and some doing vocational training funded by some NGOs but this is not bringing any change since they are coming back.
“It is only knowledge being instilled in them but they still lack discipline and mindset change.”
He said some of their supporters are only focusing on supplying food to the street kids which is rather inviting and motivating more children to come and remain on the streets.
“Security have to work with the ghetto leaders to eradicate street kids,” and I urge them not to only focus on general operations targeting the criminal areas but get better ways of stopping and changing the street children.
Population and behaviours
Lira City has 1,352 street children in the ghetto ecosystem by the end of 2021. Of the numbers, 1,222 are young boys (few men) and 130 girls (and a few somewhat aged).
According to their chairperson, most of these ladies are not from Lango sub-region but rather other tribes who came and got stuck in Lira with no relatives and nowhere to go.
He added that some of them gave birth to children whose fathers are in the squad.
“The abuse drugs, they smoke cannabis, they chew khat leaves (mirra); inhale aviation kerosene (QAV-1) among others which help them to be senseless and forget about their problems, frustration, hunger. They get addicted to it the most.”
An investigation by Our Reporter revealed that a price of mirra ranges from shs1, 500 per bundle, aviation kerosene is sold at shs500 per mineral water bottle cover, tuff bond ranges from shs1000 and above; cannabis (jai) from shs500 (depending on the quality).
Mortality
Our investigation found that 21 street children aged 10 – 15 died in 2021 from their established ecosystem.
Most of them were killed by an angry mob after being caught stealing or committing crimes while others died natural death according to Odur.
ALSO READ:
- “Lira City youth” who are HIV positive not taking ARVs, 7 dead
- Exclusive: LPG to investigate PRELNOR, criticizes govt for mistreating Lango
- Why Lango was omitted from PRELNOR’s $70.9m community roads project
Abodes (strongholds)
Lira City has a total of 45 homes for the ghetto squad. The popular ones are nicked named CPS, Acolpii, among others. At these places, they have been described as “gazetted areas” they sleep under trees, in tied sacks, tree branches; unfinished buildings and around sewage areas.
The ghetto hotspots and strongholds in the City are Achol-pii located at Te-Atat, CPS located at Kitgum stage, Lagoon behind Blue Valley, B13 in Kakoge, Teso Bar, West Coast in Teso-bar, Te-Okutu and Te-Aboi.
Their chairman’s home is in Aboowia, according to an investigation we have done.
Plan Report
An earlier report by Plan International Uganda showed that Lira was ranked the leading district in crime rate in 2016 with 6,509 reported cases. 6,726 cases were reported in 2018 and 4.5 % of the crimes were committed along the highways, 47.7% crimes were committed in urban centres.
The report also showed that 47.8% of crimes were committed in rural areas implicating that Lira is the most unsafe town in Uganda at that time; a dangerous place for children, women and men.
Nationally, known crimes and trade ‘hotspots’ are Kitgum stage, Teso-bar and Juba road that appeared in the Plan International Uganda report.
According to a report by the Uganda Police Force, Regional Police Headquarters at North Kyoga on selected crimes, from January to June 2021, Lira City and Lira District registered a joint total of 1,005 criminal cases.