Newborn boy abandoned at rubbish pit

Police in Soroti are hunting for a person who threw a one-day-old baby boy at a rubbish pit near Trends Discotheque in Soroti town, Eastern Uganda.

The infant was found on bare grass on Monday morning by the area LC1 chairperson, Mr Noah Otedor, who rushed it to Soroti Hospital.

The officer in Charge of Child Protection and Family Welfare, at Soroti Police Stations, Ms Florence Adongo said she suspects that the baby's mother abandoned it at the pit.

"Child desertion is a serious offence but for the case of this woman, the appropriate charge will be attempted murder," Ms Adongo said.
She said the baby had been handed over to Youth with a Mission, a child adoption center in Soroti town.

"Cases of child desertion are on the rise lately. It is a very big crime and whoever is implicated shall be dealt with accordingly," Ms Adongo said.
According to crime records at Soroti Police Station, at least 100 cases of child desertion had been reported since the beginning of this year in the mid-eastern region.

The police spokesman in the region, Mr Juma Hassan Nyene said most of the cases involve school girls.