Mother Locks Up Son In Cage

Police are hunting for Sarah Birungi of Kalule zone in Kawempe division for confining her 12 -year-old son Ronald Ssemambo in a cage, reports Josephine Maseruka.The Kawempe police rescued the naked Ssemambo on Sunday from a cage where his mother had chained him for refusing to take tea without milk.The deputy Police spokesman, John Kimera, yesterday said Birungi was likely to be charged with assault or failure to provide for her child, contrary to section 153 of the Penal Code.Kimera said assault charges would be preferred depending on the doctor’s report. He said the Police on Sunday handed over Ssemambo to his father, Joseph Ssettyabule, a mechanic at Bwaise. Birungi separated with Ssettyabule and married John Omita with whom she has other children. Ssemambo said his mother had often confined him in the cage over trivial matters. The cage is used for hens and goats.“On Saturday, she gave me tea without milk yet there was milk at home. After complaining, she offered me the milk but I refused to take it and she ordered me out of the house,” Ssemambo said.Ssemambo, who described his mother as a moody and quarrelsome woman, said he spent the cold night on the verandah and the following day, she ordered him to go to his father.“When I refused to go to my father, she undressed me and caned me before dumping me in the cage which she locked with chains,” the boy said.The LC chairman, Samson Kyeswa, said when the residents reported the matter to him, he immediately contacted the police. Birungi fled the home before the police arrived.Ends