Woman 'burns step-son' over Easter disappointment

By Jeff Andrew Lule & Simon Masaba

KAMPALA - A woman in Bweyogerere central village has been taken in by police after she allegedly poured hot water on her six-year-old step-son after a quarrel with her husband, neighbours say.

Police confirmed the incident and identified the woman as Najjuma.

The CID chief at Beyogerere Police, Godfrey Twinamatsiko said Najjuma injured the boy after picking up a quarrel on phone with her husband over requirements for the festive season.

Neighbours said the step-mother ‘threw hot water onto the boy’ following a long phone quarrel on Saturday with the boy’s father, in which she demanded money to buy food items for the Easter festivity.

But then, one neighbor said, the demand turned futile which prompted the young woman to turn her anger onto the child.

It is said the boiling water was on a cooking stove at the time of the incident.

Presently at Mulago Hospital under medical care, the scalded boy sustained serious injuries on the head and shoulders.

By the time of filing the story, Police chief Twinamatsiko had said the child was still unconscious and could not speak.

But Najjuma denied the allegations that she burnt her step-son. She said that she was chasing after the boy when he bumped into the boiling water.

According to the police however, the burns show that the child was deliberately burnt by her stepmother.

“We are still waiting for the boy to recover to get what really transpired,” Twinamatsiko said.

“We have communicated to the husband and he will be reporting at Police. For now we are charging Najjuma with child neglect since she never protected the child.”