By BMGender-based violence, assault, and theft are increasingly dominating crime reports in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement Camp, revealing mounting security and justice challenges in one of Uganda’s largest refugee communities.The 124-square-mile settlement, located in Kikuube District, currently hosts 154,029 refugees across 46,067 households, according to Freddie Mark Sempiira, Assistant Settlement Commandant under the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).Congolese nationals form the largest group, followed by Rwandans and South Sudanese.Sempiira made the revelations during a Joint Monitoring and Evaluation visit by the Development Partners Group (DPG), led by the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) at Kyangwali Settlement Administration block.The mission aimed to assess access to justice among refugees and host communities.“In the past two years, we recorded a rise in gender-based violence, though numbers have started to drop,” Sempiira said. “Cultural practices among some refugee communities, particularly Congolese from Ituri Province, make enforcement difficult. Families often marry off daughters as young as 14 and prefer to resolve disputes internally.”The settlement has also seen high school dropout rates despite government and partner efforts to promote education.Many children, particularly girls, leave school due to early marriages, insecurity, and limited resources.Joseph Muwanga, Head of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at Kyangwali, confirmed the rise in crime.Police reports show increasing cases of rape, defilement, and aggravated robbery, with theft and assault leading.“We have only four detectives for all cases,” Muwanga said. “We lack interpreters and transport to take offenders to the High Court in Hoima. Some offenders are repeat criminals, highlighting the need for civic education and awareness.”Overcrowding is also a concern at Kyangwali Prison, according to Officer in Charge Moses Egalu.The facility currently holds 41 inmates, including three women, with eight refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. All are convicts; there are no remand cases.“We are operating in a very small space and under constant strain,” Egalu said. “The number of offenders keeps increasing, yet the prison infrastructure remains the same.”Dedan Tugaine, Protection Associate with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), added that police posts and prison facilities are overwhelmed by the growing number of offenders.During the visit, JLOS Senior Technical Advisor Racheal Odoi Musoke asked about gender ratios and the types of crimes most committed.While Sempiira was hesitant, Tugaine and Muwanga confirmed that gender-based violence and theft remain the top offenses, affecting women and children most.The monitoring team also noted that Kyangwali has no State Attorney, leaving only 18 police officers to cover both the settlement and the surrounding host communities.Authorities pledged to continue working with UNHCR and JLOS partners to improve access to justice, strengthen protection services, and enhance coordination between humanitarian actors and government institutions. Despite the challenges, officials remain hopeful that ongoing collaboration will gradually improve law enforcement and safeguard vulnerable populations. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).