Synopsis

"Under 18" is a dystopian fictional story about a teenage boy named Mateso who lives in poverty with his single mother Tabu. Mateso's father is abusive and one night he beats Mateso and Tabu so badly that Mateso decides to leave home to find money to support them.

Mateso becomes an honest street child, washing cars for a living. One day, a briefcase goes missing from a car he was washing and he is arrested by the police. Mateso and the others arrested with him are charged with armed robbery and sentenced to several years in prison.

In prison, Mateso is abused by other adult inmates and his health deteriorates. His poor mother Tabu laments the injustices that her son has suffered and tries to find justice for him.