Two children’s wrists amputated, children’s rights group worries

R B and N, are two children from Karemba hill in Itaba Commune of Gitega central province whose wrists have been amputated over maize robbery. “It was around 6 p.m. when we suddenly met two young men who forced us to put our hands up before starting to cut our wrists”, says the victim, sitting on the bed of Kibuye Hospital in Gitega province.

David Ninganza: “The penal code must be revised to specify how to punish crimes of this kind”

He says Ndayikengurukiye Chadrack, a student from grade two in Post-Fundamental school and Bayubahe Didier, a student from grade six in Fundamental School, are the presumed perpetrators who intercepted them when they were coming from their field to pick up avocados. “They accused us of having stolen maize from their fields”, he says.

The presumed perpetrators say they cut the children’s wrists thinking that they were coming from their fields to steal maize.

Léonie Hatungimana, Bizimana’s mother asks for justice. “Even if they were criminals, their wrists would not be amputated,” she says. Hatungimana says the land related conflict would be behind such a crime. “They live near us on the other mountain. It was a premeditated crime as I had also escaped from another attempt in the past”, she says.
Salvator Bakundukize, social and administrative advisor to Itaba administrator, says what happened is regrettable. “We plan to sensitize people to the evil of mob justice”, he says.

David Ninganza, Spokesperson for the association defending children’s rights- SOJPAE, says the penal code must be modified to punish seriously the perpetrators of such a crime. “It is inhuman that children cut other children’s body parts,” says Ningaza.

He says the law governing the protection of children requires everyone to fight any form of violence against children. “The law must specify how to punish crimes of this kind,” he says.

This children’s rights defender urges educational partners and organizations involved in this field to combine their efforts to conduct an awareness campaign throughout the country in order to avoid justice. “It is an aggression for both the country and families”, he says.