Woman dumps baby in pit latrine after getting new lover
The 19-year-old woman, Milly Mutonyi (L) who is accused of dumping her baby in a pit latrine guarded inside her house by the LC boss for Ntooke village, Mr Fred Ssekatonya (R) as a mob bayed for her blood outside on April 18, 2024. PHOTO/ FRED MUZAALE
What you need to know:
- Ms Mutonyi told journalists that she had decided to kill her baby because she feared her new lover would not marry her if he got to know that she was pregnant.
- Mr Ssekatonnya said it was the suspect’s friend who rushed to his home and informed him that Mutonyi had delivered a baby and dumped it in a latrine.
- In her statement to the police, Mutonyi decided to conceal the pregnancy from her new lover who she thought would not marry her if he found out she was expecting.
Police in Kayunga District were on Thursday forced to fire live bullets in the air to disperse a mob that was baying for the blood of a 19-year-old woman for allegedly dumping her newly-born baby in a pit latrine in Ntooke village, Kayunga Town council.
Mr Isa Katongole, the officer in-charge of Kayunga police station said the suspect identified as Milly Mutonyi, who by last month had an eight-month pregnancy fell in love with a new lover after the man who impregnated her denied responsibility of the pregnancy.
In her statement to the police, Mutonyi decided to conceal the pregnancy from her new lover who she thought would not marry her if he found out she was expecting.
“After falling in love, the woman did not reveal to the new lover that she was pregnant and when the suspicious husband tried to inquire from her whether she was pregnant, she shrugged him off claiming she was just chubby,” Mr Fred Ssekatonya, the Ntooke village LCI chairman said.
Mutonyi’s new lover, Mr Alex Ssenyonjo, early this month rented for her a house in Ntooke village where the two have been living together.
Mutonyi is said to have dropped out of Kitimbwa Bright SS where she was a senior four candidate after getting pregnant. She later went to live with an unidentified friend in Busaale village in Kayunga Sub-county, where she met Ssenyonjo, a taxi driver.
Mr Ssenyonjo said she successfully managed to conceal the pregnancy from him all the time they have been together.
“She could not undress in my presence and on many occasions, when I asked her for sex, she claimed to be sick,” Mr Ssenyonjo said.
He said he left Mutonyi at home early in the morning to go to work but later received a distress call from one of the neighbors that she had given birth to a baby boy and dumped him in the pit latrine.
“I left her still sleeping but she appeared restless all the night. I think she was having labour pains,” Mr Ssenyonjo said.
Mr Ssekatonnya said it was the suspect’s friend who rushed to his home and informed him that Mutonyi had delivered a baby and dumped it in a latrine.
“I immediately rushed to the suspect’s home and when I went to the toilet I heard the baby crying from the 35-feet pit latrine and called the police rescue and fire services team, which responded and retrieved the baby after excavating the pit,” Mr Ssekatonya said.
The LCI boss said he had to lock the suspect in her room to save her from the mob that wanted to lynch her.
“She wanted to kill her baby, hand her over to us so that we also kill her,” one angry lady shouted after police arrived at the scene.
The baby boy was retrieved alive and rushed to Kayunga regional referral hospital for treatment while the suspect was arrested and whisked to Kayunga police station amid tight security.
The police had to fire live bullets in the air to disperse the angry mob that was baying for Mutonyi’s blood.
Ms Mutonyi told journalists that she had decided to kill her baby because she feared her new lover would not marry her if he got to know that she was pregnant.
“I am sorry but I just wanted to save my new relationship,” a sobbing Mutonyi said while at police.
Mr Katongole said investigations into the incident were still ongoing, adding that the suspect would be charged with attempted murder.
Ms Hellen Alikoba, the Kayunga police officer in-charge of the family and child protection unit advised women to always seek advice from authorities and professional counsellors whenever they get such challenges.
