Rwanda National Police

Police has cautioned parents and guardians against acts of child abandonment and called on the public to provide timely reports on child abuse whenever they occur in society.

 This follows an incident in Gishyita Sector, Karongi District on July 1, when a two weeks old baby was found abandoned in a garden.

 The Police Spokesperson for Western Province, Superintendent Emmanuel Hitayezu, said that the baby was found in the evening hours by children who had gone to fetch firewood, who later informed police about the incident.

 He revealed that investigations found the mother to be a 17-year old resident. The child was rushed to a health centre for treatment.

 “Child abandonment is prohibited under Rwandan laws as a cruel act committed by those presumed responsible individuals, against the vulnerable one. These acts are against the social and cultural norms of Rwanda and should not be tolerated in any society,” he said.

 “Everyone who abandons or exposes a child to harm should be reported immediately because they are likely to endanger the child’s physical and mental health.”

 He added that Rwanda National Police (RNP) has continuously called for community safety, which entails acts of responsibility by parents and guardians towards the safety of their children, and a community’s common understanding of child protection.

 “Child abandonment leads to sustained emotional abuse, isolation, humiliation or violence that is likely to cause a child trauma. Children who are emotionally deprived are more likely to develop mental health problems, have poor social and relationship skills, and end up in the criminal justice system,” he said.

 “By acting early together through community policing, we can avoid the trauma of emotional abuse that can affect a whole life, not only a childhood.”

 Under article 231 of the penal code, child abandonment or neglect of a child in an open place by a parent or a guardian, attracts a term of imprisonment between two to five years and a fine between Rwf20, 000 and Rwf100, 000.

 Statistics from the Police Anti-GBV and Child Protection Office indicate that between at least 69 cases of parents or guardians abandoning their children were recorded between 2012 and 2014.