The Death of Another Street Boy

The Death of Another Street Boy

Late one night in August 2006, Juma was caught sleeping on the rooftop of a downtown shop by a group of sungu sungu. He had many prior encounters with the sungu sungu, most of which resulted in violent beatings and possibly several days in jail. This time proved to be no different: the particular group of individuals who caught Juma were notorious for their harsh treatment of Mwanza’s street boys. They beat Juma severely, dumped him upside down in the open sewers that line the city’s streets, stole what few possessions he had, and turned him over to the local police. The latter, who did not have the time, staff, or facilities to deal with street boys, immediately sent Juma to Butimba Prison on the outskirts of the city. Street boys were often sent to this facility, which is Tanzania’s second-largest prison, where they shared cells with violent adult offenders for days at a time before being released back onto the streets. Accounts of physical and sexual abuse being inflicted on the boys by adult prisoners were commonplace. In this instance, Juma was placed in a cell with two men who beat and raped him repeatedly over a period of three days before he was released.

According to other street boys, Juma was in severe pain and attempted to get admitted to Mwanza’s Bugando Hospital but was unable to do so because he could not pay the (equivalent of US $5.00) admittance fee. He also feared being arrested

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and beaten by the hospital’s security guards, which had happened to him on at least two other occasions. On his last night alive (two days following his release from Butimba Prison), several of Juma’s friends brought him once again to the gates of Bugando Hospital. However, they were chased off by a group of sungu sungu and forced to abandon him because he was in too much pain to move.

According to officials, Juma’s body was found the following day on the banks of the Mirongo River about a quarter-mile from where he was last seen by his friends. No attempt has been made to piece together what happened on that night and, as has been the case with the deaths of many street boys, the official response to Juma’s death was a mixture of ignorance, indifference, and expression of futility. When questioned, one member of the sungu sungu who was reportedly present that night shrugged and said, “He was found on the Mirongo River, right? Well, they don’t call it a river of shit for nothing.” While it was confirmed that Juma died of severe hemorrhaging, the exact details surrounding the final hours of his life remain a mystery.

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