Of poverty, breaking and entering and kids.

When you read newspapers and see armed robbers caught by the Police, do you ever wonder if some of them started stealing from childhood or was it just borne out of extreme lack? I witnessed something mind boggling this evening and even took some pictures. Two primary school boys between the ages of 9-11 broke into their headmaster’s office in search of anything to sell for money if the confession of one of them is anything to go by.

Caught in the act.

I watched from a balcony in horror as one of the boys used a stone to break the padlock and instructed the other boy to ‘watch out’ for him while he went inside.  He was there for a few minutes when I and a relative of mine alerted one the school security men who had seen the ‘look out’ boy and was asking what he was doing there. The man went in and dragged the boy in the office out. This is one of the craziest things I have witnessed in my life. Small boys!!

The 'look out' boy. Cried his eyes out when they were caught.

 When the security men asked them what they were doing in there, the ‘look out’ boy began to wail and said it was the other boy that lured him into the act. He had told him that his mother was poor as she sold oranges for a living. He kept assuring the security men that he was a good boy and his mother would kill him if she heard of the incident. He cried and cried while the other boy didn’t even say much nor cry. He was just doing his best to escape but couldn’t as he was held tightly by one of the security men.

The security men deciding what to do with them while holding them.

If that boy is a burglar at this age, what happens when he is up to 20 years old? I don’t know what must have been going on in his mind when he picked up that stone and hit and hit until he broke the door. And proceeded to search for ‘something’ armed with a Bagco bag in which he would conceal whatever he finds.

If your ward doesn’t come home when he/she should after school, please be concerned and be sure you know your kids’ friends. As you can see, horrible things can be learned at that young an age. 

Can you imagine the pain and humiliation the mothers of these kids will go through when these men and some 'area' boys storm their houses with their sons calling them criminals? God have mercy!

Take care people.

Lily Johnson