Man burns own child over food

By Richard Adrama

THE Police in Arua district is investigating a case in which a man burnt his five-year-old daughter’s hands for eating boiled beans kept in the house.

West Nile regional Police spokesperson Josephine Angucia said that the father of the girl Ophin Andeoye reportedly burnt the daughter’s hands for eating beans sauce without permission.

The incident happened at Nyirivu village in Ulupi parish, Arivu sub-county in Arua district last week.

The girl Josephine Andeoye told New Vision Online at Arua Central Police Station that she ate the food because she was hungry.

Asked how the father burnt her hands, the girl said: “he held my hand firmly atop a kiln. I struggled while pleading for forgiveness, but he kept my hands in the fire.”

The burnt girl was later picked at their home by a community worker at a local non-government organisation, who informed the African Network for Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse in Arua.

The community worker reported the abuse to the Police and write a statement. Aleti said the child’s father did not bother to take her for treatment.

Lillian Dravuru, the in-charge family and child protection unit at Arua Police Station, described the conduct as a barbaric act and needed to be punished severely.