Teen mother kills, buries baby in Katakwi swamp

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In a shocking incident, a 15-year-old mother from Kololo cell in Katakwi Town Council has been accused of killing her 11-month-old baby boy.

Reports indicate that on April 18, 2025, the young mother carried her child for approximately a kilometre towards a nearby swamp, where she is believed to have suffocated him.

After the alleged act, the mother, who is an orphan, reportedly placed the baby in a thicket before returning home to fetch a hoe, with which she dug a grave just 100 metres from their village home near Aleles and buried him.

The case has drawn significant attention from local authorities.

It has emerged that the girl was allegedly defiled and impregnated by a 38-year-old man, David Okou, also known as Abwaimo. Okou is still at large after he reportedly had an altercation with police in 2024 and escaped while still in handcuffs.

Following the tragic incident, the young mother returned home and appeared to resume her usual activities.

However, concern grew when community members began asking about the missing baby the following day.

It was then that the mother confessed she had killed her child and buried him in the swamp.

Winifred Akwii, the woman chairperson for Kololo cell, expressed alarm over the situation after noticing that the breastfeeding mother she had last seen with a hoe was now without her baby.

“When I asked her where the baby was, she hesitated at first but eventually confessed to the act, stating she felt accused of theft,” Akwii recounted.

The assistant resident district commissioner (RDC), Michael Opio, together with the police, intervened as tensions escalated among residents, who attempted to take matters into their own hands in response to the atrocity.

By April 19, 2025, authorities had exhumed the baby’s body.

Mourners during the burial of a baby in Katakwi town council Katakwi District on Sunday. (PHOTO BY EMMANUEL ALOMU)

A post-mortem examination was conducted at Katakwi General Hospital on Easter Sunday, while police continued to hold the juvenile in custody.

Mary Adie, the suspect’s mother, revealed that her daughter, who worked as a housemaid for a nurse, had returned home with four articles of clothing believed to be stolen, including two handkerchiefs.

The juvenile was brought before the LC1 court over theft allegations made by the nurse, whose identity remains unknown at this time.

After being threatened with police involvement over the matter on Friday, the girl, left alone at home, reportedly expressed despair and threatened to take her own life, according to neighbours.

Adie recounted that she was taken to the police by local council authorities between 11am and 5pm on behalf of her daughter, who had gone missing.

Upon her release, Adie discovered that during her detention, her daughter had taken the baby to the swamp with the intention of harming them both.

According to Adie, she had no knowledge that her daughter had previously expressed any thoughts of harming the baby or herself.

It was only after the incident that she learnt from her other children that the suspect had been saying demons were instructing her to kill her child or risk dying herself.

“If I kill you, it’s not my intention, but I keep hearing voices telling me to do it,” Adie quoted reports from her daughter’s siblings.

Adie shared the heartbreaking story of her daughter, the fourth of nine children, who faced many challenges after becoming an orphan.

From a young age, the girl struggled with frequent episodes that led to her leaving school after Primary Four.

“I sought enrolment for her at different schools, but she was turned away each time,” Adie recounted. “The administration claimed they couldn’t accommodate ‘a devil worshipper.”

Robert Osekenye, the LC1 chairperson of Kololo, said Adie had long been distressed over her daughter’s situation, particularly after she became pregnant at such a young age and received no support, financial or material, from the child’s father.

“The young girl resorted to stealing clothes for herself and her baby, unable to afford basic necessities,” Osekenye explained.

John Fredrick Okolimo, a clan leader in the Igetoma-Ikolituk area, expressed dismay upon hearing of the baby’s murder.

Hellen Christine Angida, the vice chairperson of LC3 Katakwi Town Council and councillor for Southern Ward, was among those who helped recover the baby’s body.

“It was wrapped in a few clothes, with the head covered, while the legs were exposed,” she detailed.

Katakwi district police commander, Geoffrey Ssebuyungo, confirmed that the young suspect remains in custody as investigations continue.

Assistant RDC Katakwi, Michael Opio, suggested that the suspect may have resorted to the tragic act due to the harsh living conditions, which left her unable to care for the child.

“The young mother felt overwhelmed, particularly as her own mother was also struggling in their rented home in Kololo,” Opio said.

The baby was laid to rest on Easter Sunday in Katakwi Town Council.

This is not the first incident of its kind in the area. In 2018, another mother—whose identity remains unknown—abandoned a dead infant among nearby thickets.