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The rottweiler dog that on Monday, March 18, 2024, killed the seven-month-old son of former Uganda Medical Association (UMA) president Dr Andrew Obuku Okwaro and also attacked the maid has been killed.

Sources on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, confirmed the dog was killed, and its blood and stomach content was taken for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis to try to link it to the boys killing.

The family dog attacked and mauled Raphael Obuku and also injured the maid at the family’s home in Canaan Estate, Mawugulu Cell, Katabi town council in Wakiso district.

Veterinary and Police doctors who examined the dog in their report seen by New Vision Online indicated that “the dog was in good shape and had been trained on bite work as well". 

"On interaction with the dog, it is responsive and obedient to people it knows and had no observable anomaly. Except for the left side of the eye which seemed a bit red. And I guess due to the bite and shaking it did that it spilled the brain matter and tore the rib section of the baby,” the report reads.

Police noted that this incident happened when the boy's parents had left him in the custody of the newly recruited housemaid Sharon Nuwarinda.

Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said Nuwarinda was still being treated at the Entebbe Grade B hospital after the dog bit her thigh and also had scratches on her body.

Investigations

However, a detective handling the matter said they still wanted to establish how the dog grabbed the young child and killed him.

“There is still some small deviation from the narration. It's not yet clear how the dog got the baby. She said the baby was crying and she had taken him out trying to babysit. Then the dog came and grabbed the baby from her. We are still with her to get statements of what could have happened,” the detective noted.

Owoyesigyire told New Vision Online that they had not yet ascertained how the dog got out of the cages: “Whether it was by force or negligence of the caretaker who at the same time was caretaking for the child”.

According to a situation report released by the Police in Entebbe, on Monday at about 10:00 am, “a dog (tamed inside the house) that belongs to Doctor Obuku escaped from its kennel, it violently attacked and bit to death the baby boy Raphael Obuku from his home located in Canaan Estate Mawugulu cell Katabi Town Council Wakiso District,” the report reads.

Dog's house not properly locked

Police indicated that the dog had been hostile and it one time tried to attack people from the neighbourhood. Police also noted that the dog's house was not well fixed which gave it a chance to sneak out.

“The Doctor's house is ever locked from the gate which makes it hard for the neighbors to rescue the situation. The dog badly mauled the boy's head which is a rare behaviour of a dog thus it might have been sick,” Police said.

Uganda Veterinary Association (UVA) president Dr Daniel Kasibule on Tuesday said this was an unfortunate situation. 

“People should know that dogs have their behavioral patterns and some of these are genetically influenced. There are dogs with behaviors not good to keep in homes. Their memory and loyalty are not that good. A Rottweiler breed can accord loyalty to one or two people and the rest are enemies at any time. That one or two people when they take long to attend to it, can again forget and attack. The German Shepherds have long-lasting loyalty and discipline. The lesson this is giving us is that we should know dogs are dogs and it has to be introduced to people at home so that it has the familiarity aspect,” Kasibule said.

Dr Mugume said a dog is commonly known as man's best friend.

“People keep dogs for different purposes, however despite it being man's best friend they can cause great danger if not properly handled because they can turn aggressive. Dogs exhibit different forms of aggression that include but are not limited to; territorial aggression; fear aggression; prey aggression; intrahousehold aggression; resource guarding aggression; control related aggression and some secession can idiopathic aggression.”

He said idiopathic aggression whose cause was not yet known is the most dangerous because it occurs suddenly without prior warning.

“It arises spontaneously with no known cause, making this form of aggression the most dangerous since it can't be foreshadowed based on the dog's environment. It is unpredictable and unprovoked. This type of aggression is extremely rare,” he said.

Record of mauling babies

Rottweilers have over time had a record of killing babies around the world including in countries like France, the US, the UK, Finland, and Croatia.

In 2000, Thai authorities slapped a ban on imports of Rottweilers after a three-year-old girl was mauled to death by one of the breeds.

Between 2005 and 2013, Rottweilers were only bettered by Pitbulls in fatal dog attacks in the US. They accounted for 11.7% of the fatal dog attacks, while the Pitbulls accounted for 62.2%, according to the Human Society.