News
Mityana detectives detain 'teenager' over suspected abortion
Police say the case came to light after residents reported that the previously pregnant teenager "suddenly appeared to have a flat stomach,” raising suspicion within the community.
Wamala Region Police Spokesperson, SSP Lameck Kigozi. (File photo)
By: John Masaba, Journalist @New Vision
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Police detectives in Mityana are searching for three suspects, including a medical worker, after a body of an aborted fetus was discovered in a pit latrine in Kajjere village, Kibiga subcounty.
Police said Wednesday that a seventeen-year-old girl has been arrested in connection with the incident, while her mother, one Jesca, her sister and a local medical assistant remain on the run.
Wamala Region Police Spokesperson, SSP Lameck Kigozi, said the case came to light after residents reported that the previously pregnant teenager "suddenly appeared to have a flat stomach,” raising suspicion within the community.
Alerted by residents, police launched investigations that led officers to a pit latrine belonging to one Ibrahim Wasswa, where the remains of a female fetus were recovered on June 16, 2026. The body was taken for a postmortem examination.
Police said the teenager confessed that her mother and sister allegedly conspired with a local medical worker to terminate the pregnancy.
According to police, the mother had previously been in a relationship with a man identified as Brian Bakuza, who later ended the affair and began a relationship with her daughter, resulting in the pregnancy.
Police further allege that the medical worker (names withheld) supplied labour-inducing drugs that were administered to Nampijja twice on June 15, 2026. She reportedly delivered the fetus around 2:00am, the following day, after which it was discarded in the latrine.
Police are appealing to anyone with information on the whereabouts of the suspects to report to the nearest police station.
Legal context
Police said the teenager confessed that her mother and sister allegedly conspired with a local medical worker to terminate the pregnancy.
According to police, the mother had previously been in a relationship with a man identified as Brian Bakuza, who later ended the affair and began a relationship with her daughter, resulting in the pregnancy.
Police further allege that the medical worker (names withheld) supplied labour-inducing drugs that were administered to Nampijja twice on June 15, 2026. She reportedly delivered the fetus around 2:00am, the following day, after which it was discarded in the latrine.
Police are appealing to anyone with information on the whereabouts of the suspects to report to the nearest police station.
Legal context
Under Uganda’s Penal Code Act, abortion is strictly regulated and criminalised in most circumstances, with liability extending to all parties involved.
A person who attempts to procure an abortion may face up to 14 years in prison, while a woman who consents to or self-induces a termination may face up to seven years. Individuals who supply drugs or instruments used in the process may be liable to up to three years’ imprisonment.
The law provides a narrow exception where a qualified medical practitioner acts in good faith to save the life of the mother.
Although health policy guidelines have sought to broaden permissible grounds in cases such as rape, incest, defilement, or severe foetal abnormality, these provisions remain in tension with the Penal Code, resulting in continued legal and operational ambiguity.
A person who attempts to procure an abortion may face up to 14 years in prison, while a woman who consents to or self-induces a termination may face up to seven years. Individuals who supply drugs or instruments used in the process may be liable to up to three years’ imprisonment.
The law provides a narrow exception where a qualified medical practitioner acts in good faith to save the life of the mother.
Although health policy guidelines have sought to broaden permissible grounds in cases such as rape, incest, defilement, or severe foetal abnormality, these provisions remain in tension with the Penal Code, resulting in continued legal and operational ambiguity.