Mother survives mob over burying baby alive
Aug 29, 2007
THE Police in Kayunga district have arrested a woman who allegedly buried her one-year old baby alive. Silvia Naikoba, 19, a resident of Buyobe village in Kayunga sub-county, is said to have buried Edina Ndibalekera on Sunday evening. A day later, she reportedly got married to another man.
By Charles Jjuuko
THE Police in Kayunga district have arrested a woman who allegedly buried her one-year old baby alive. Silvia Naikoba, 19, a resident of Buyobe village in Kayunga sub-county, is said to have buried Edina Ndibalekera on Sunday evening. A day later, she reportedly got married to another man.
The district criminal investigations chief, Grant Tabo, told the press that Naikoba, during interrogation at Kayunga Central Police Station, had accused her former husband of abandoning her and the baby.
She denied having killed the baby, saying it had died of malaria, but a postmortem report indicated that the child had died from suffocation.
Police exhumed the corpse on Monday from the family’s coffee shamba, about 30 metres from the house where Naikoba was staying with her grandmother, Gladys Namulinda.
“I left Naikoba with the child and went to the garden to collect food, but when I came back at around 2:00pm, there was no one at home,†Namulinda told the Police.
Namulinda said after waiting in vain for Naikoba to return, she alerted neighbours about her disappearance.
A search was then mounted and according to the area chairman, Edward Kisitu, the residents were tipped that Naikoba had gone to stay with another man identified as Ronald Lukanga of Kiwangula village, about seven kilometers from Buyobe.
The residents raided Lukanga’s home where they found Naikoba, but without the child. Lukanga escaped before the villagers could lay their hands on him.
“We asked her for the baby and she told us it had died. She told us she had already buried her at the grandmother’s home,†said Kisitu.
The furious residents, sensing that Naikoba had murdered her baby, began baying for her blood. The Police, however, arrived in time to disperse the mob.
THE Police in Kayunga district have arrested a woman who allegedly buried her one-year old baby alive. Silvia Naikoba, 19, a resident of Buyobe village in Kayunga sub-county, is said to have buried Edina Ndibalekera on Sunday evening. A day later, she reportedly got married to another man.
The district criminal investigations chief, Grant Tabo, told the press that Naikoba, during interrogation at Kayunga Central Police Station, had accused her former husband of abandoning her and the baby.
She denied having killed the baby, saying it had died of malaria, but a postmortem report indicated that the child had died from suffocation.
Police exhumed the corpse on Monday from the family’s coffee shamba, about 30 metres from the house where Naikoba was staying with her grandmother, Gladys Namulinda.
“I left Naikoba with the child and went to the garden to collect food, but when I came back at around 2:00pm, there was no one at home,†Namulinda told the Police.
Namulinda said after waiting in vain for Naikoba to return, she alerted neighbours about her disappearance.
A search was then mounted and according to the area chairman, Edward Kisitu, the residents were tipped that Naikoba had gone to stay with another man identified as Ronald Lukanga of Kiwangula village, about seven kilometers from Buyobe.
The residents raided Lukanga’s home where they found Naikoba, but without the child. Lukanga escaped before the villagers could lay their hands on him.
“We asked her for the baby and she told us it had died. She told us she had already buried her at the grandmother’s home,†said Kisitu.
The furious residents, sensing that Naikoba had murdered her baby, began baying for her blood. The Police, however, arrived in time to disperse the mob.