Police in Kampala are holding a 14-year-old housemaid to aid in an investigation into the circumstances under which a one-year-old baby left under her care reportedly drowned in a basin of water that was being used to bathe her.
Kampala Metropolitan deputy police spokesperson, ASP Luke Owoyesigire, said on Monday, May 20, 2024, during the weekly press briefing that the baby was being bathed by the maid when the incident happened in Katuso zone, Buziga parish in Makindye division.
According to Owoyesigire, the deceased’s parents are Peter Mubiru and Goretti Nakato, who had gone to work by the time the unfortunate incident happened.
“It is alleged that the suspect, Milly Nambuusi, 14, a maid, was bathing the deceased in the basin and then that she moved aside, leaving the child in the water. Coming back shortly, she found the deceased had fallen into the water and was too weak,” said Owoyesigire.
He stated that according to the police findings, the maid’s attention was taken when one of the neighbors called her, leaving the baby in the basin, and by the time she returned, the unfortunate incident had already happened.
Owoyesigire added that the maid later called neighbors who helped her take the child to a clinic as they called the mother, but on arrival at Kirudu Hospital, the child was pronounced dead.
The housemaid was later arrested and detained at Kabalagala Police Station. The deceased’s body has been taken to Mulago City mortuary for a postmortem.