Mayuge, Uganda | URN | 23-year-old Lydia Namuwaya, a resident of Misoli village in Wairasa sub county in Mayuge District in Eastern Uganda is currently on the run after stabbing her one-day-old son in the left shoulder and then dumping him in the pit latrine.
Namuwaya is reported to have delivered her son through the help of a traditional birth attendant on Wednesday 12, May 2021 night and dumped him in the pit latrine the following day.
Residents attempted to inquire on where the baby was, but Namuwaya’s house help who also fled into hiding informed them that he had been taken to a health facility for further management.
However, on Thursday 13, May 2021 night, Fahad Byakika heard a baby crying in the pit latrine, prompting them to alert fire brigade personnel who jointly teamed up with members of the local community, rescued him, and immediately rushed him to Wairasa Health Center II before referring him to Jinja Regional Referral Hospital for further management.
Byakika told this publication that they were shocked about their neighbors’ action. “Namuwaya looked healthy and she carried that baby in her womb for nine months under our watch therefore, if her jolly face was anything to go by, dumping her baby was the last thing we could imagine her do,” he says.
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Namuwaya’s mother, Jessica Matama says that she was informed of her daughter’s actions when the toddler was already in hospital.
A health worker who spoke on condition of anonymity says that the child is in stable condition and is slowly responding to treatment.
Meanwhile, the Busoga east police spokesperson James Mubi confirms the incident, adding that detectives have been dispatched to track down the suspect.
