P7 candidate dumps baby in pit latrine

On Friday, thousands of primary seven candidates across the country converged at their schools for the briefing exercise ahead of exams next week.

However, seven pupils of Osudo-Kamuda Primary School in Soroti district missed the exercise.

Out of 37 pupils that registered for Primary leaving Examinations (PLE), only 30 pupils turned up for briefing according to the school head teacher, Tom Egatu.

One of the seven who have missed briefing is a 17 year-old girl who delivered a baby girl and allegedly dumped it in a pit latrine at the school.

The girl is with her baby at Soroti Referral Hospital where she was admitted after Police rescued the baby who had an open umbilical cord on Wednesday.

"It was during lunch time when children ran to my office to inform me of a child crying inside the pit latrine. The mother was not at the scene and I had to call Police that responded very fast and we rescued the baby," said Egatu.

"We have administered polio vaccine to the baby and she is required to return on the 15^th of next month," said Grace Epaku who is heads the maternity ward at the hospital.

"We have not yet considered any charges against the girl since she is in the hospital," said Kyoga East Police spokesman Michael Odongo.

Speaking to New Vision, the girl denied throwing the baby in the toilet saying it was an accident.

"I felt like it was urine that I was going to pass but in the process the baby came out and dropped into the latrine. I ran to my mother to inform her about the incident," she said.

She said she is ready to seat for PLE on Monday and she is optimistic that she will excel and become a nurse.

She further revealed that the father of the child is classmate who has sought refuge in Kampala following threats from her father to have him arrested.

"He loves me but only he feared my father. I am sure he will return one day to take care of his baby," she said.

Osudo-Kamuda Primary School is a community school and the six other students who dropped out after registering for the exams have either gotten married or ventured into fishing on Lake Kyoga.

David Ekadu the LC1 chairman of Kakere village blamed poor parenting to be the cause of children misbehaving.

"Parents have refused to discipline their children whereby many have turned out to be thieves. I have so many cases of the youth stealing maize, chicken and sleeping with teenage girls," Ekadu said.

Ekadu who has scheduled a village meeting next week, explained that his committee is preparing to come up with by-laws that restrict youth from loitering in the village instead of being at school.