The Principal Judge, Lady Justice Jane Frances Abodo, has called for concerted action by Government and justice-sector stakeholders to improve the welfare, rehabilitation and reintegration of children in conflict with the law, saying the time has come to move beyond plans and commitments to tangible interventions.
Lady Justice Abodo made the call during a courtesy visit to Kampiringisa National Rehabilitation Centre (KNRC) in Mpigi District, where she toured the facility, interacted with children undergoing rehabilitation and witnessed firsthand the challenges affecting the Centre.
“We should now really move from planning to action,” the Principal Judge said, stressing that Government institutions must take greater responsibility for providing the basic services required to rehabilitate children in their care.
The visit brought together representatives from the Judiciary, Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, International Development Law Organisation (IDLO), and the Embassy of Sweden, among other stakeholders.
Lady Justice Abodo said the visit provided an important opportunity for justice-sector stakeholders and development partners to see how interventions in juvenile justice are being implemented and appreciate the conditions under which children are rehabilitated.
She commended the staff of Kampiringisa for continuing to serve under difficult circumstances, noting that rehabilitating children in conflict with the law requires patience, compassion and an understanding. Adding that children should never be defined solely by the offences they committed.
“You need a lot of compassion and patience. Keep looking at them as children, not through the offence that they committed. Look at the child behind that offence. They have stories,” she said.
The Principal Judge said the conditions at Kampiringisa demonstrated the urgent need for increased Government investment in juvenile justice institutions.
She called upon the Ministry of Finance, Parliament and other relevant institutions to visit Kampiringisa and other juvenile rehabilitation facilities to appreciate the challenges firsthand and make informed decisions on resource allocation.
She observed that the country should not continue depending largely on donors and well-wishers to provide basic services for children placed under Government care.
Lady Justice Abodo also challenged justice-sector institutions to reflect critically on how children are handled and sentenced, stressing that every decision should be guided by the best interests of the child and the possibility of rehabilitation.
“When you are deciding that you want this child to go to Kampiringisa, you should ask yourself: will it help the child?” she said.
She noted that children are still at a formative stage and that mistakes committed at a young age should not determine the course of their entire lives.
“The mistake they made does not define them. They made that mistake. They can actually change. They can become totally different people. The trajectory of their life can change totally,” she said.
The Principal Judge further emphasised the importance of appropriate language when dealing with children in conflict with the law. She noted that the Judiciary refers to them as young offenders rather than accused persons, recognising that the language used around children can have a lasting impact on how they perceive themselves.
She said the Judiciary would continue working to ensure that cases involving children are handled differently and that sentencing decisions take into account their rehabilitation and reintegration needs.
Lady Justice Abodo called for stronger use of diversion, particularly at police stations, to prevent children from unnecessarily entering and becoming entrenched in the formal justice system.
She said appropriate cases should be resolved through diversion and other child-friendly mechanisms, particularly where children can safely be supported within their families and communities.
The Principal Judge also advocated for increased use of technology, including digitised court audio-visual systems, to enable children to appear before courts remotely where appropriate.
She said this would reduce the need to transport children from rehabilitation and remand facilities to courts, while minimising disruption to their rehabilitation, education and skills-development programmes.
Lady Justice Abodo further called for more special juvenile court sessions to expedite children’s cases while providing a more child-sensitive environment.
She also raised concern about adults using children to commit offences and underscored the responsibility of families and communities to protect and guide children, particularly those growing up in difficult circumstances.
“We need to talk to the community. We need to talk to them so that they actually take up their role of looking after some of these children,” she said.
She thanked the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, IDLO, the Embassy of Sweden and the Embassy of the Netherlands for supporting juvenile justice interventions.
She particularly commended IDLO for its partnership with the justice sector and thanked Sweden for supporting specialised training for probation officers, noting that such training is critical to ensuring children are handled appropriately and are not further traumatised during the justice and rehabilitation process.
The Principal of Kampiringisa National Rehabilitation Centre, Ms Teopista Mutooro, briefed the delegation on the Centre’s mandate, operations and challenges.
Kampiringisa is a Government facility under the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development responsible for rehabilitating children in conflict with the law who have been committed to the Centre by courts.
The Centre provides rehabilitation, counselling, education, vocational and skills training, and other interventions intended to address offending behaviour and prepare children for successful reintegration into their families and communities.
Ms Mutooro said the Centre currently has 237 children; 226 boys and 11 girls.
She highlighted several challenges, including dilapidated infrastructure, inadequate water supply, unreliable electricity, lack of a functional vehicle, land-related challenges, inadequate resources for rehabilitation and vocational training, and security concerns arising from the open nature of the facility.
She also raised concerns about age verification, noting instances where adults have been brought to the Centre following court processes. She stressed the importance of establishing the correct age before an individual is committed to a juvenile rehabilitation facility.
The Centre also faces challenges in providing adequate post-rehabilitation support to ensure children successfully reintegrate into their families and communities.
Ms Mutooro described the visit as a historic occasion for Kampiringisa, saying it had enabled key justice-sector stakeholders and development partners to witness firsthand both the work being undertaken and the challenges confronting the institution.
Ms Barbara Kilei of the International Development Law Organisation thanked justice-sector stakeholders for maintaining their focus on juvenile justice, noting that children in conflict with the law remain part of Uganda’s future and require meaningful investment.
She said IDLO has been working with the Ministry of Gender and the Judiciary, with support from the Governments of Sweden and the Netherlands, to strengthen access to justice.
The partnership has supported initiatives including special juvenile court sessions and the provision of audio-visual equipment to reduce the need to transport children to courts, particularly in light of challenges surrounding the availability and functionality of vehicles.
Ms Kilei called for greater emphasis on prevention and diversion, observing that the number of children entering the justice system points to a need for interventions before they become caught up in formal justice processes.
She advocated for innovative approaches that enable children to remain in school, acquire practical skills and ultimately become productive members of society.
Ms Charity Ahumuza, Programme Officer for Democracy and Human Rights at the Embassy of Sweden, said Sweden has supported justice-sector programmes in Uganda for many years, including through its partnership with IDLO.
She said Sweden’s Uganda strategy, approved in December 2024, continues to support justice-sector interventions, with juvenile justice now among the areas receiving attention.
Ms Ahumuza explained that the partnership with IDLO had previously supported areas including Alternative Dispute Resolution and case backlog reduction, but juvenile justice emerged during implementation as an area requiring greater attention.
This subsequently led to support for special juvenile sessions and other initiatives intended to improve children’s access to justice.
She said the visit had given the Embassy an opportunity to better understand challenges that may not have been fully appreciated during programme design and pledged to explore how some of them could be addressed through the ongoing partnership.
Mr Franco Tollea, Commissioner for Children Affairs in the Department of Youth and Children Affairs at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, thanked the Judiciary and development partners for their interest in juvenile justice. He encouraged stakeholders to continue visiting rehabilitation and remand facilities.
He said the Ministry had received a value-for-money audit report from the Auditor General concerning remand homes and was working to address the issues identified.
Mr Tollea said the Ministry’s leadership remained concerned about the state of institutions responsible for children, particularly their infrastructure and rehabilitation processes.
“Seeing is really believing,” he said, noting that the visit had enabled stakeholders to appreciate both the progress being made and the challenges requiring urgent attention.
He urged members of the delegation to carry the issues witnessed at Kampiringisa into their respective institutional discussions and decision-making processes.
He said the Ministry welcomed the Judiciary and other justice-sector institutions as partners in ensuring that children receive appropriate justice and rehabilitation services both while at the facilities and after returning to their communities.
During a guided tour, the Principal Judge inspected the children’s accommodation and other facilities, including some of the dilapidated structures at the Centre.
She also visited areas where children undertake rehabilitation and vocational activities, including shoemaking, tailoring and hairdressing, designed to equip them with practical skills to support their eventual reintegration into families and communities.
The delegation interacted with the children and observed firsthand the conditions under which they live, learn and undergo rehabilitation.
The visit was attended by HW Edger Nyakairu, Personal Assistant to the Principal Judge; Ms Jessica Pellrud and Mr Crister Sahlen from the Embassy of Sweden; Mr Alfred Hill from IDLO; Ms Emilly from Justice for Children at the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs; Ms Rose Aaca, Senior Probation and Welfare Officer; Mr Derick Kimanzi, Probation Officer; and Ms Jackie Nakifamba, Support Officer, Juvenile Justice Programme at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.
Stakeholders agreed on the need for stronger institutional collaboration, increased investment, effective prevention and diversion mechanisms, improved rehabilitation services and stronger reintegration support for children in conflict with the law.
Posted 12th, August 2026
