Child suffocates to death after getting trapped in neighbour's car

Mar 15, 2016

The ownwers of the car said it was closed and they did not know how the child gained access

Caleb Kamulegeya, 3, the child of Sharuwa Namuguya and Sulaiman Kiwanuka residents of Kanyanya Zone in Ndejje, Wakiso district was on Monday found dead in a neighbour's car after disappearing on Sunday evening.

Police at Katwe Police Station have said the child suffocated to death.

The neighbour identified as Ssalongo Hannington Kawagga, and his wife Nalongo also residents of Kanyanya Zone have been detained at Katwe Police station to help in the investigation.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Hassan Musooba who also doubles as officer in charge of criminal investigations at Katwe police, said the child was not murdered as some people had alleged but suffocated to death.

He said as soon as the body was discovered, it was taken to Mulago Hospital for a postmortem to determine the cause of death.

"The child died out of suffocation in the car. He was not murdered as some people were alleging. When we discovered his body at the scene, in the neighbor's car, he was seated, with his head bent down; holding sandals in his hand and did not have any bruises on his body. If he was murdered, we would have found bruises, but there was none," Musooba said.

he oyota orona parked in the compound in which the body was found The Toyota Corona parked in the compound in which the body was found.

 

amulegeyas father grieving over the loss of his son Kamulegeya's father grieving over the loss of his son.

 

According to the owners of the car, the car was not in motion, one of the car tyres was flat, and it had not been working for quite a while.

They said the car was closed and they did not know how the child gained access.

However, Musooba said that one side of the car doors was locked, while the other was open.

"The child could have entered through the open door, locked himself inside and failed to reopen it till he suffocated and died" he added.

On Monday at about 11:00am, Kamulegeya was spotted by a resident who had gone to fetch water at Kawagga's home slumped alone in the car. He was found lifeless when residents eventually opened the car and retrieved his body.

The parents of the deceased notified police when Kamulegaya went missing and a search was immediately mounted.

Grandmother refutes murder allegations

Nandawula Namusisi, 60, the deceased's grandmother said people in the area were alleging that the child was murdered by Ssalongo Kawagga, but she refuted the claims.

"My son and Ssaalongo are not enemies; they enjoy a good relationship. He and his wife did not murder my grandson. What happened was an accident, God has decided to take Kamulegeya away from us, and we cannot blame Ssalongo," Namusisi said.

"Doctors at Mulago H`ospital after carrying out the post-mortem, told us the child died of kiziyiro (suffocation)," she added.

She explained that both families on the day Kamulegeya went missing, were involved in the subsequent search.

The deceased was laid to rest at Mukitimba village in Butambala district. 

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