Member of Parliament for Bugweri Woman, Rachael Magoola, has called on the government, through the Uganda Police, to take action against musicians who perform semi-naked at public events, in an effort to uphold cultural values and promote positive value systems, especially among the youth.

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During a breakfast meeting on tackling child sexual violence in Uganda at Fairway Hotel in Kampala on Wednesday, the musician-turned-politician, known for her hit song Obangainahit in the late 1990s, emphasized that the erosion of value systems is one of the most significant challenges facing Uganda's younger generation.

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“Musicians have resorted to indecent dressing with almost their private parts revealed while performing anywhere and it has been normalised. You (police) need to arrest these people because the young people, especially girls and irresponsible adult women have copied these dressing styles.

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How will a parent stop a child from dressing decently yet they (children) see their mother dress the way they wish? Our policies and value systems are standing on the head and the legs are in the air yet the value systems are stuck in our cultural values,” Magoola said.She stated that the current generation perceives African culture as outdated and often links it to witchcraft.

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“When we talk of culture, in the current generation, people think it’s for the witch and they insult the person preaching decency. We have ignored who we are, to become who we are not, and become what we can’t handle through social media. We need to go back to the culture where the moral values and systems start from homes and churches.

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If you have the chairperson of Mother’s Union at church sitting down with women monthly and the women also sit down with their girls about the proper dress code and behaviour, we’ll have a decent society. Leaders at all levels have influence on their communities,” the legislator added.

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Organised under the theme united for protection, elevating advocates and erasing harmful practices, the meeting sought to, among other objectives, promote positive social -cultural norms and practices that protect rights of children from sexual abuse and violence and increase support and commitment from government line ministries and policy makers to prioritise implementation of policies and strategies that address sexual violence.

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Executive Director of Raising Teenagers Uganda, the Co-chair and the host organisation for The Brave Movement Uganda, Hope Nankunda, said the united for protection campaign reflects a holistic approach that addresses the immediate needs of vulnerable children while promoting sustainable, community-driven strategies.

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“This meeting is to catalyse collaboration among stakeholders and spark meaningful dialogue that will advance the collective mission of eliminating harmful practices affecting children and adolescents in Uganda. This will lead to more informed discussions and potentially early steps towards policy changes or interventions but also increased budget allocation towards child sexual abuse response in Uganda,” Nankunda said.

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According to the 2023 Uganda police annual crime report, a total of 14, 846 sex-related cases, representing 6.5 percent of the overall registered crimes in this category countrywide, were reported to police compared to 14,693 cases reported in 2022, giving an increase of 1.4 percent.The same report also says a total of 12,771 cases of defilement were reported to Police in 2023, compared to 12,580 cases reported in 2022, giving an increase by 1.

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5 percent in defilement cases registered countrywide. Of the defilement cases reported in 2022, 8,925 cases were defilement while 3,846 cases were aggravated defilement.The report adds that out of the defilement cases reported in 2023, 5,564 cases were taken to Court. Of these, 2,402 cases were not proceeded with while 4,805 cases are still under inquiry.

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Out of the cases taken to court, 940 cases secured convictions, 38 cases were acquitted, 414 cases were dismissed and 4,172 cases are still pending in court. A total of 5,671 suspects of defilement were arrested and charged in court, out of whom, 982 were convicted, 56 were acquitted, 400 discharged while 4,233 were still awaiting trial.

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