Teacher Arrested For Eloping With 16-Year-Old Student And Getting Her Pregnant

A teacher has been detained in Butaleja District, eastern Uganda, for purportedly eloping with a 16-year-old student after getting her pregnant. According to TV47, John Omondi, 32, eloped with the student of Mabale Primary School in January 2021 and lived with her until she became pregnant.

After parents made a complaint to Butaleja Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Stanley Bayole, the charges were filed.

Moses Mugwe, a spokesman for the region's police, said Omondi will be convicted with "aggravated defilement" once the inquiry was completed.

“We have arrested a teacher in a government-aided primary school on allegations of defiling, marrying, and impregnating a pupil. Both the suspect and the victim were found staying together,” Mugwe said in a statement.

According to Bayole, the girl will undergo a medical examination that would support the probe.

The local administrator found that the student was two months pregnant and that the 32-year-old teacher advised the girl to have an abortion.

“Acts of defilement undermine the learner’s potential to attain vital goals in life. We, therefore, encourage the general public to be on the lookout and report such human rights abuses to police for further action,” Bayole said.

Police also detained the school's headteacher after authorities received complaints that he attempted to fix the situation rather than reporting it to law enforcement.

Other incidents have been on the rise, according to Bayole. In the last two months, 20 people have been detained on allegations of rape or defilement.

“Last month I arrested a teacher of a private school in Busolwe town council over alleged defilement and is currently on remand in Butaleja government prison. Today, I have again arrested another teacher in a government-aided school over the same. We shall make sure they face the law,” Bayole said.

The Daily Monitor reports that in 2019, a total of 2,601 learners were pregnant, in a study done by the Butaleja District Health Office in all health centers in various sub-counties, but the figure grew to 2,664 in 2020.

According to the study, 3,596 of the 5,265 females who became pregnant in the previous two years received prenatal treatment.

Defilement is defined under Ugandan law as having sex with a female under the age of 18, but rape is defined as having intercourse with a woman without her permission, generally by force.