BY URN
BUGWERI_UGANDA/NEWSDAY: The police fire and rescue services department on Sunday retrieved a newly born baby dumped in a pit latrine in Idudi town council in Bugweri district.
The baby still had its umbilical cord and visible blood stains, raising suspicion that she might have been dumped in the latrine immediately after delivery on Saturday night. The baby has since been taken to Iganga hospital’s neonatal ward for further management.
She was retrieved from the pit latrine belonging to Iduma Mubitirivu by an unknown individual(s). Mubitirivu told journalists that he had gone to the pit latrine in the wee hours of Sunday morning when he heard a baby-like voice from down the latrine.
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Mubitirivu says that he suspected that it might have been one of the stray wild cats, but the sunken voice persisted for close to five minutes non-stop, prompting him to closely look through the pit latrine before he noticed the baby floating in the faecal waste.
Mubitirivu alerted police authorities who teamed up with residents and dug out the child from the faecal waste alive. Zainabu Biryeli, the LC I chairperson in the area says that the baby might have been deliberately dumped in the pit latrine by one of the disgruntled teen mothers within their community.
“Our area is a trailer corridor and several teenage girls have fallen victim to commercial live sex, living them with unwanted pregnancies from strangers and I suspect that one of them might have dumped this baby over lack of necessities,” she said.
Biryeli says that upon the discovery of such pregnancies whose fathers they are not aware of, the teens opt for unsafe abortions for fear of reprimand from their caregivers and endless community ridicule.
She further challenged school-going girls to abstain from commercial sex activities, as these may result into the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies, which may deter them from pursuing their education.
Meanwhile, Busoga East police spokesperson, Diana Nandawula, says that reports received from the hospital indicate that the baby is out of danger and she is positively responding to treatment.
Nandawula further says that police is liaising with a children’s home to ensure proper care of the child as they intensify the search for her biological mother.
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