Revenge: Woman throws neighbour’s baby in latrine
Jul 02, 2006
A 23-year-old woman recently stunned residents of Kibuwa zone in Mengo, a suburb of Kampala when she threw her neighbour’s one-month-old baby in a 10-feet pit latrine.
By Alice Emasu
and Elvis Basudde
A 23-year-old woman recently stunned residents of Kibuwa zone in Mengo, a suburb of Kampala when she threw her neighbour’s one-month-old baby in a 10-feet pit latrine.
This is the story of two young breastfeeding in the same compound, but cannot see eye-to eye due to trivial fights between their older children. Whereas the children would fight and reconcile in a couple of minutes, their mothers’ hostility increased each time their children fought.
The hostility culminated in an attempted murder of the baby on June 8.
Sayida Abdallah waited for Fatuma Mbabazi (the baby’s mother) to go and fetch water. She sent neighbour’s child for the baby who was sleeping and dumped it in pit latrine.
The victim was rescued when another neighbour heard it yell from the latrine.
“When I heard the baby crying from the latrine, I rushed thinking one of the girls had delivered and decided to dump the baby,†said the neighbour.
She made an alarm, attracting men in the neighbourhood who scooped the infant out of the filth using hoes. The girl who was sent to collect the baby revealed what happened to the neighbours and parents.
The rescued infant had by the time of the interview developed rashes all over its body. It was treated from a nearby clinic and medical reports show that the baby is fine.
A relieved Mbabazi says her baby survived because it was dressed in an overall which prevented the human excreta from entering the ears.
On June 16, at the Police, the perpetrator admitted to dumping her neighbour’s baby in the latrine because of the feud between them.
“Initially, I wanted to beat one of her older children so that she would know how hurt I was whenever her children fought with mine. I dropped this idea after a friend suggested we drop her baby in a pit latrine,†she said.
“We were tempted by satan. Forgive me. I didn’t think the baby would die,†she pleaded.
While it is common for women to fight over men, it is not uncommon for women to quarrel over issues concerning their children. The culprit puzzled many who had gathered at the Old Kampala Police station.
Others were moved by her being remorse, coupled with the fact that she has a breastfeeding baby and two other young ones.
Kajimba Mayanja of Makerere University Institute of Psychology says whereas it appears like the perpetrator planned her move, it is also possible that there were other factors like history of violence in her family, her hormones especially if she was in her menstruation periods, hot temperature and the genetic factors among others, that influenced her actions.
Mayanja, however, did not rule out the possibility that the perpetrator could be mentally ill.
Mayanja says it is possible there were warning signs to indicate that the perpetrators would commit a crime against Mbabazi. “If well interpreted, these warning signs of violence would have helped Mbabazi to avoid danger,†he observes.
According to a study in 2005 on effective anger management by an American researcher from Oxford University Press says while anger is a normal human emotion caused by anything from a friends’ annoying behaviour to worries about personal problems, anger can lead to violence and injury when not addressed positively.
According to Police, the suspect must be charged in the courts of law and the likely charge is attempted murder. according to the Police.
The community liaison officer, Old Kampala Police, Sgt Emmanuel Turikumwe, said Abdallah’s case was registered as CRB 1944/2006 and it has been forwarded for further investigations.
and Elvis Basudde
A 23-year-old woman recently stunned residents of Kibuwa zone in Mengo, a suburb of Kampala when she threw her neighbour’s one-month-old baby in a 10-feet pit latrine.
This is the story of two young breastfeeding in the same compound, but cannot see eye-to eye due to trivial fights between their older children. Whereas the children would fight and reconcile in a couple of minutes, their mothers’ hostility increased each time their children fought.
The hostility culminated in an attempted murder of the baby on June 8.
Sayida Abdallah waited for Fatuma Mbabazi (the baby’s mother) to go and fetch water. She sent neighbour’s child for the baby who was sleeping and dumped it in pit latrine.
The victim was rescued when another neighbour heard it yell from the latrine.
“When I heard the baby crying from the latrine, I rushed thinking one of the girls had delivered and decided to dump the baby,†said the neighbour.
She made an alarm, attracting men in the neighbourhood who scooped the infant out of the filth using hoes. The girl who was sent to collect the baby revealed what happened to the neighbours and parents.
The rescued infant had by the time of the interview developed rashes all over its body. It was treated from a nearby clinic and medical reports show that the baby is fine.
A relieved Mbabazi says her baby survived because it was dressed in an overall which prevented the human excreta from entering the ears.
On June 16, at the Police, the perpetrator admitted to dumping her neighbour’s baby in the latrine because of the feud between them.
“Initially, I wanted to beat one of her older children so that she would know how hurt I was whenever her children fought with mine. I dropped this idea after a friend suggested we drop her baby in a pit latrine,†she said.
“We were tempted by satan. Forgive me. I didn’t think the baby would die,†she pleaded.
While it is common for women to fight over men, it is not uncommon for women to quarrel over issues concerning their children. The culprit puzzled many who had gathered at the Old Kampala Police station.
Others were moved by her being remorse, coupled with the fact that she has a breastfeeding baby and two other young ones.
Kajimba Mayanja of Makerere University Institute of Psychology says whereas it appears like the perpetrator planned her move, it is also possible that there were other factors like history of violence in her family, her hormones especially if she was in her menstruation periods, hot temperature and the genetic factors among others, that influenced her actions.
Mayanja, however, did not rule out the possibility that the perpetrator could be mentally ill.
Mayanja says it is possible there were warning signs to indicate that the perpetrators would commit a crime against Mbabazi. “If well interpreted, these warning signs of violence would have helped Mbabazi to avoid danger,†he observes.
According to a study in 2005 on effective anger management by an American researcher from Oxford University Press says while anger is a normal human emotion caused by anything from a friends’ annoying behaviour to worries about personal problems, anger can lead to violence and injury when not addressed positively.
According to Police, the suspect must be charged in the courts of law and the likely charge is attempted murder. according to the Police.
The community liaison officer, Old Kampala Police, Sgt Emmanuel Turikumwe, said Abdallah’s case was registered as CRB 1944/2006 and it has been forwarded for further investigations.