Nduta (Tanzania): alleged child rapist released

A sixty-year-old man, suspected of raping three children under the age of six in Nduta camp in Tanzania, has been released after a short stay in detention. The victims’ parents are crying foul. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The sixty-year-old lives in zone 12, village 6. He had been arrested for raping three little girls from his community.

“It was the MSF* hospital that carried out tests and provided evidence to the police to arrest the alleged perpetrator. Accused by the victims, the suspect did not deny the facts,” say Burundian refugees from this village.

The victims’ parents say the crime was allegedly committed several times on the same victims. “The children were telling their friends what happened as jokes,” they said, which alerted these parents to demand investigations.

The medical services confirmed these suspicions after conducting tests.

The case was brought before the police who detained the person concerned for two weeks. To their great surprise, the parents and neighbors saw the suspect free since last weekend. Which worried them.

They went to ask the police for explanations and the latter gave them an answer that shook the entire Nduta camp.

“If you want fair justice, go to Burundi, to your home. The judicial services are impatiently waiting for you there!”, the police sneered.

For the moment, the parents do not know which saint to pray to.

“How is it that a criminal, a rapist of a minor, is taking it easy, is thanked and applauded instead of being punished according to the law! They think they are inflicting punishment on us for having released him, but far from it, rather, they maintain and feed a notorious impunity in their country. This is unacceptable,” they protest. They also demand sanctions against those who made the decision to release “a criminal who takes responsibility for his actions.”

The refugees are calling for help. They are mainly calling on the UNHCR, humanitarians in charge of child protection, to take up this case. They are worried that the suspect could repatriate to avoid prosecution.

“This is a new form of pressure for forced repatriation. But it’s worse. Not punishing criminals!”, stress Burundian refugees who live in a camp where any infraction is punished by forced repatriation, which is strongly decried by the occupants of Nduta.