On Monday Shelin, Colin and I caught a Boda Boda to Kamwokya slum to investigate the case of Mohammed, a 4 year old boy believed to be sacrificed in Kampala but found in Jinja.
Similar to the 'hunt' for the family at Lugazi, we asked around the slum until we found someone who knew the whereabouts of the family.
The family home was right in the middle of the slum. The conditions were smelly and dirty. Channels full of raw sewerage ran beside houses that were in various stages of disrepair. Children ran around between areas covered with drying yeast.
We sat on the 'verandah' of the family home (which doubled as the kitchen) and interviewed the mother and uncle. The father wasn't home at the time of the interview. I've since heard that the neighbour, Night, has been missing for most of the investigation and there is an unconfirmed rumour that the father has recently had an affair with her.
Once we finished the interview (and captured the slum in photos) we caught a Boda Boda to Kira Road Police Station where we met Mr Walugembe, Divisional Commander of Police (DCP) - responsible for many of the police districts across Uganda, including most of Kampala and Mr Pande Davis, a senior officer of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
I understand Kira Road police station is a reasonably typical Ugandan police station, except that it also accommodates a number of senior police personnel. It was a little confronting to see the prisoners in their respective cells. Arrested men and women have their shoes removed when they're taken into custody and men also have their shirts removed to distinguish them from civilians. They all looked pretty hopeless and destitute and their eyes were hollow. There were many men or women sharing the one cell.
After interviewing the DCP about the details of the current case, we offered our continued support to assist in their ongoing investigations - to help bring about justice for those involved.
Mr Walugembi mentioned that he was planning a Community Reconciliation meeting in the Kamwokya slum later in the week and that he would appreciate having members of the KCM ECS team as guests due to our hands-on experience with families affected by child sacrifice.
After agreeing to assist, we returned to the Jesus House on a Boda Boda.
Another unexpected adventure!
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