CGJ Student Staff Update from Shannon Fields

This blog post was written by 3L Shannon Fields.

This semester I have had the privilege to work on a project for Kyampisi Childcare Ministries (KCM). The organization fights child sacrifice in Uganda as well as provides rehabilitation for the victims. KCM asked the Center for Global Justice to write a memorandum about why restitution should be granted to child sacrifice victims and/or their families.

Although there is a statute which permits the courts to grant restitution to such victims, it is rarely implemented. Child sacrifice crimes not only cause extreme emotional hardship for the families, but they also cause financial hardships. It is not enough to remove the perpetrator from society. Steps should be taken to attempt to make the victim or victim’s family whole once again, and restitution is one of those steps. Restitution has the potential to provide financial relief to the victim’s family, and unfortunately, it is not being utilized in regard to child sacrifice crimes. The hope is that this memorandum will motivate judges to grant restitution to the victims to pay for their medical expenses, psychological treatment, and other needs. It is a privilege to get to encourage change in Uganda, a place near and dear to my heart.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

CBNNews Story on Child Sacrifice in Uganda

Today the 700 Club aired an exclusive story about how hundreds of Ugandan children are kidnapped and murdered each year as part of a thriving human sacrifice business.

CBNNews interviewed Peter Sewakiryanga, Founder and Executive Director of Kyampisi Childcare Ministries (a Christian NGO dedicated to protecting Ugandan children), and Judge Mike Chibita, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

In the summer of 2013, the Center for Global Justice sent Heather Pate as the first legal intern to work with Kyampisi Childcare Ministries (KCM). Since then, our student staff has continued to support KCM through a number of legal projects, including reviewing case files, drafting letters to prosecutors, and writing a legal memo for parliament.  The Center was privileged to host Peter Sewakiryanga in the fall of 2015.

This past summer, Center for Global Justice intern Debbie Stieglitz had the opportunity to work with Judge Chibita on two child sacrifice cases. You can read about justice being done for one of those children just three days ago here >

View the CBNNews story tonight at 11pm EST on the 700 Club or view the video below.

WARNING: Some of the content in this report is disturbing and will be unsuitable for younger viewers.

Justice for Hope

After seven years, it finally happened! The witch doctor who brutally tortured Hope for 1.5 years has been convicted of kidnapping with the intent to murder, and he will spend the next 45 years in prison (at his age, a life sentence).

As we have written about before, the Center for Global Justice had the opportunity to help with this case last year, and it has been on our hearts and prayers ever since. For several reasons, this case has been ongoing for quite some time, and at moments it seemed like this day might not come. So, we could not be more overjoyed at the result. Thank you to everyone who prayed for justice for Hope!

“The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” Nahum 1:3

Student Staff Projects for Fall 2016

To provide Regent Law students with practical experience in the legal protection of human rights, students volunteer with the center each semester for a minimum of 5 hours/week. Here is an overview of the projects that our student staff members are working on this semester:

IJM Uganda: International Justice Mission Uganda fights land grabbing, a terrible problem that affects thousands of widows and orphans in Uganda. In order to aid IJM's work, the Center is expanding a legal memo it drafted last semester on the legal doctrine of res judicata. The Center's memo will help IJM decide the best legal strategy to bring civil suits on behalf of widows whose land was stolen.

Kyampisi Childcare Ministries: KCM is a nonprofit organization in Uganda that fights child sacrifice. In order to aid KCM in its work of monitoring child sacrifice cases, as well as aid prosecutors, the Center is putting together a legal manual that outlines the steps involved in a child sacrifice case, applicable charges for the defendant, and various legal issues that will have to be addressed to have a successful prosecution.

Handong: The Center works in partnership with Handong International Law School to advance the rule of law and expand religious freedom in Mongolia.  This semester, the Center is drafting a legal memorandum relating to the implementation of homeschooling in Mongolia.

Shared Hope: Every semester the Center supports Shared Hope with the Protected Innocence Challenge (PIC).  The PIC is a 50-state survey designed to improve the laws of all 50 states as they relate to the sex trafficking of children. This semester, the Center is analyzing whether each state has vacatur laws that allow minor sex trafficking victims to have any convictions that resulted or related to their trafficking vacated rather than merely expunged.  When a sentence is vacated, it is completely erased from all existence, as opposed to expungement, which normally just seals the records of the conviction.  Vacation of a sentence thus offers greater protection to the victim.

Turkey Project: This semester the Center is planning on writing a short book that discusses the legal framework regarding secularism and religious freedom in Turkey.  Turkey is a very strategic country, situated between the west and the east, mostly Muslim but constitutionally secular, etc.  Recent events in Turkey, however, have the potential to upset this balance and make Turkey another Islamic state.  The booklet is thus intended to explain Turkey's constitutional commitment  to secularism and guarantee of the Free Exercise of Religion and (2) the illegality of many of the government's recent actions, including the ongoing state support of mosques. We intend to use the booklet as a means to educate those in Turkey about what Turkish law actually says and requires.

African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights: The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is the body responsible for overseeing and implementing the major human rights treaty for Africa. The Center for Global Justice is currently praying about whether to become a certified non-profit organization (NGO) before the ACHPR, which hosts two sessions every year in order to address the status of human rights in the continent. Center Executive Director, Professor Jeffrey Brauch, will be attending the next session, which is to be held in The Gambia in October. We are drafting a legal memo on the ACPHR to help us identify if and how we can be involved and to better understand the major human rights issues that need to be addressed from a biblical perspective.

ADF International: As always, the Center is partnering with ADF International to monitor all cases before the European Court of Human Rights to ensure that we identify all cases on which ADF should intervene.

Jerusalem Institute of Justice: This semester the Center is continuing a project from last semester for JIJ on the Palestinian refugees. One of the primary points of disagreement between Israel and Palestine is what to do with the Palestinian refugees.  Palestine claims all refugees have a "right to return" to Israel. Israel claims that no such right exists.  We are analyzing the legal situation of the refugees, specifically looking at whether a future (or existing?) state of Palestine has an obligation under International Law to grant citizenship to the refugees.

Update on Child Sacrifice Victims in Uganda

Two weeks ago, we let you know about Hope, a young Ugandan girl rescued from kidnapping and torture.  Our partner organization, Kyampisi Childcare Ministries (KCM), will go back to Rakai magistrates court this week where more witnesses, including Hope's parents, will give their testimonies.  Please pray for safe travels and of God's continued hand on this case.

Also please pray for a new child sacrifice/murder case in Uganda. We don’t have all the facts, but we know the case involves the murder of a three-month old child by the child’s father. Thanks to a legal letter drafted by the Center for Global Justice, KCM was able to convince the prosecutor to add the charge of aggravated trafficking. Moreover, thanks to another letter drafted by the Center for Global Justice, the court is moving the case along expeditiously to ensure that justice is done.

Please pray for justice and for our partner, KCM.

Young Ugandan Girl Rescued from Kidnapping and Torture

Center for Global Justice Admin Director Ernie Walton with
KCM Founder and Executive Director Peter Sewakiryanga

Thanks to the great advocacy work of Kyampisi Childcare Ministries (KCM) and legal support from the Center for Global Justice, a Ugandan man who tortured a young girl for over one year has been charged with “Kidnapping or Abducting in order to subject a person to  grievous Harm, Slavery.”

KCM is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to caring for and protecting vulnerable children in Uganda. One of the issues KCM works on is combatting child sacrifice. The Center for Global Justice has the privilege of providing KCM with legal support to assist in its work to combat child sacrifice. KCM was recently mentioned in a Reuters.com article regarding the increase in child sacrifice during the elections in Uganda.

The case mentioned above involved a 9 year-old girl name Hope. In 2008, Hope was kidnapped. The perpetrator tied Hope with ropes, kept her on his shrine for over one year, repeatedly drained her blood, cut her tongue, removed teeth, and fed her barely anything. Hope was found alive but left utterly disabled. The perpetrator was a fugitive for the past eight years, but thanks to an undercover sting operation by KCM and the Ugandan Police, he was recently apprehended. In order to make sure this case received sufficient attention, the Center for Global Justice, in partnership with KCM, drafted a letter to the prosecutor that discussed the seriousness of the case and recommended various charges.

We praise the Lord that the prosecutor amended the charges to include “Kidnapping or Abducting in order to subject a person to  grievous Harm, Slavery,” a charge that carries a sentence up to fifteen years in prison under the Uganda Penal Code. Please pray that justice will be done in this case.

Fighting for Children in Uganda

Courtney with Ugandan children
she met last summer

One of the many unique blessings Regent Law students have is the ability to attend Chapel on a weekly basis. We come together as a community to praise God through songs and prayer, as well as hear from a multitude of speakers. Peter Sewakiryanga, the Founder and Executive Director of Kyampisi Childcare Ministries (KCM), is one inspirational speaker we heard from last semester.

KCM is a non-governmental organization in Uganda motivated by its faith in Jesus Christ and dedicated to educating its community and advocating for vulnerable children. Specifically, KCM fosters outreach for child abuse, child trafficking, child sacrifice, and maltreatment in the rural areas of Uganda.

After hearing Peter’s testimony, I knew I wanted to help his cause—though I knew not how. Thankfully, the Center for Global Justice assigned three Student Staff members to help Peter and KCM this semester. My peers and I are working on developing legal arguments to help Peter advocate for two minor girls. One child had been forced into marriage, defiled, and impregnated, while another child was kidnapped, tortured, and subjected to sacrificial acts until ultimately becoming disabled.

Peter has a huge heart for these children and for spreading God’s love. It truly is a privilege to be able to use my legal skills to support him and his ministry. At times it is difficult to conduct fruitful legal research on a developing country’s law, but one grows tireless in persisting when thinking of the children such efforts may help save.

If you would like to learn more about KCM’s work, please visit: http://kyampisi.org/.

- by Courtney Marisigan