This archive report was first published on 15 August 2019.
On Wednesday, two teenagers were accused of engaging in sex and narrowly escaped being lynched by an irate mob in Lalagin village, Litein town, Bureti sub-county.
According to an eye witness, the girl was seen entering a house occupied by a teenage boy at around 8pm on Tuesday, sparking suspicion among neighbours who expected her to leave immediately.
However, the girl opted to spend the night there, prompting neighbours to become suspicious and eventually report the matter to the authorities.
Confirming the incident, Bureti sub-county police commander Felician Tengeye said area assistant chief and police officers rushed to the scene to calm down the angry members of the public following a tip off from a villager at 10am.
Ms Tengeye added that the two minors were arrested and escorted to Litein police station where, upon interrogation, the 17-year-old boy disclosed that he had completed his primary school education last year and opted to engage in making and selling 'kangumus' to meet his basic needs after his mother failed to raise school fees to send him to secondary school.
“Despite the two teenagers confessing that they did not engage in sex, we will escort them to hospital for medical examination to confirm,” said Ms Tengeye.
Ms Tengeye also stated that she had contacted the parents of the two teenagers and the children’s department to offer appropriate counseling and monitoring of the minors in their respective schools.
“It is sad and unfortunate that parents are not monitoring their children’s movements or activities. Parents ought to take full responsibility of their children and counsel teenagers about the consequences of engaging in pre-marital sex and instill in them good values,” she said.
