KAMPALA: A domestic wrangle in which a husband abandoned his family for another woman has forced a 19-year-old mother to throw her nine-month-old baby into a pit latrine.
Superintendent of Police Rachel Kawala, the Kampala Metropolitan Spokesperson, said the incident occurred has occurred at Kigo-Lunya, Makindye-Ssabagabo Municipality in Wakiso district.
It is alleged that the suspect, Irene Nakalanzi, 19, was angered after her husband Joseph Segimana 37, tricked her that he was at a bus terminal in Kampala and invited her there, only to dash backin her absence to move his belongings to a new home where he cohabited with another woman.
The suspect has allegedly thrown the baby into a 50-foot pit latrine and later claimed the father had taken the child and disappeared. But the LC1 leaders forced her to report the matter to the Kajansi Police for a missing child. Upon interrogation, she has reportedly confessed.
Kawala said the Police Fire and Rescue Services have retrieved the body and conveyed it to Mulago Mortuary for postmortem examination as more investigations are being carried out while the duo remain in police custody.
In a similar incident, police at Kawempe have arrested two other parents over the death of a five-month-old baby girl whose body was also found dumped in a pit latrine. The deceased has been identified as Margret Nandaula who died on 26th September in Kanyogoga, Kawanda Central Zone, Nabweru Division, but the matter has only been reported to police on Wednesday.
Preliminary findings have indicated that the baby fell sick the previous week and died. However, the mother reportedly wrapped the body in a polythene bag and dumped it in the latrine and only informed her sister.
Police got a tipoff from one of the residents and visited the scene, where the body was retrieved. Kawala explains that the body has been taken to the mortuary for postmortem to establish the cause of death, while two suspects, George Ssendawula, 44, and Sarah Namutebi, 35, both parents of the deceased and residents of the same address, are in custody to assist with investigations.
The Police Children and Family Protection Unit say many mothers act under extreme stress and postpartum depression but never get psychosocial support. Parents are consistently cautioned against taking the law into their own hands and couples urged to seek counseling through LC leaders, probation officers and the Child and Family Protection Unit.
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