Woman sentenced to 35 years for feeding child with faeces

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A woman who forcefully fed a toddler with her faeces in Masaka city has been sentenced to 35 years imprisonment by a court in the city after pleading guilty to aggravated torture of a child.

Passing the judgement on Thursday, November 7, 2024, court presided over by the Masaka Chief Magistrate, Aloysius Natwijuka said court took into consideration that the convict, Stella Namawejje (34), was a first offender who did not waste court's time and was remorseful.

“The convict has been remorseful, however, her actions against an innocent baby are grave and barbaric and call for deterrent punishment to protect against children,” he said before a packed court.

Senior State Attorney Brian Kalinaki had earlier asked the court to consider passing a life imprisonment sentence, saying that the convict's character does not deserve her to remain in public.

Stella Namawejje behind the nasty video clip that went viral showing her feeding a baby with her faeces. She pleaded guilty to the charges before she was sentenced to 35 years imprisonment. (Photo by Dismus Buregyeya)

Namawejje, a commercial sex worker and mother of four from Kyazanga in Lwengo district, told the court that she was unsure of what led her to commit such a brutal act. She pleaded for forgiveness and requested a lenient punishment.

“We have many children who are going through such brutality, and the culprits remain unknown. We got this one because she recorded herself; we must protect our children from abuse,” Natwijuka said.

Prosecution led by Kalinaki told court the accused exposed the baby to HIV/AIDS. This follows a medical examination carried out on the accused from Masaka Regional Referral Hospital.

“The way Namawejje conducted herself was inhuman on such an innocent child who was exposed to various infections and diseases, including the deadly HIV & AIDS,” he said, sending people in court into angry reaction.

He said the baby is undergoing treatment, including PREP, to prevent him from acquiring HIV, adding, “We are lucky that the convict recorded herself; otherwise, you never know how many children are being  subjected to this kind of torture unnoticed.”

He said the accused was also found to be mentally stable when examined by Dr Herbert Kalema from Masaka Hospital.

The case

Court heard that between September 24 and October 24, the mother of the baby, identified as Oliver Mbabazi, entrusted the accused to take care of her baby while she was away at work.

Prosecution told court that the evidence pinning Namawejje was retrieved from a video on her smartphone.

According to Kalinaki, the footage taken from her home shows the accused undressing and then proceeding to defecate and urinating on the baby. She also forced the child to drink a mixture of her human waste.

Kalinaki said that police arrested the convict after one of her friends forwarded the recorded footage to a mobile money agent who made it go viral.  He said the concerned residents, with the support of LCs, helped police to apprehend the convict.