Zombo woman dumps newborn in pit latrine

Zombo: A deeply distressing incident in Patek West Village, Mundel Parish, Nyapea Sub-County, Zombo District, has triggered widespread outrage.

In the early hours of Monday, November 18, 2024, a woman in her 20s, identified only as Kwiocwiny, allegedly gave birth and immediately dumped her newborn into a pit latrine at her father’s home.

The lifeless body of the baby girl was retrieved on Monday morning by local leaders and community members.

Local leaders suspect that the baby was born late Sunday night. When Kwiocwiny was questioned about her pregnancy by concerned community members, she confessed to dumping the baby in the pit latrine.

Francis Oryema, the LCI chairperson of Patek West Village, confirmed the horrific act. “We woke up today to shocking news. A lady from this village gave birth to a live baby girl yesterday evening and later dumped her into their pit latrine,” Oryema said in an interview.

He added, “The community put much pressure on her, and she confessed. We dismantled the latrine and retrieved the lifeless body.”

Eyewitnesses reported finding the fetus deep inside the latrine, with the umbilical cord and placenta still attached.

The community dismantled the latrine and found the baby’s lifeless body deep inside, with the umbilical cord and placenta still attached.

One eyewitness recounted the gruesome discovery. “We even saw the foetus inside the toilet, with its placenta and umbilical cord still attached.”

Oryema emphasized that the woman had no known mental health issues and had not disclosed any motive for her actions.

Eliot Odongo, the council speaker of Nyapea Sub-County and area councillor for Mundel Parish, condemned the incident as tragic and urged families to seek alternative solutions to conflicts instead of harming innocent children.

Earlier this year, another mother in the same parish abandoned her baby in a nearby bush. Fortunately, the child was found alive after spending a night exposed to the elements.

Some stakeholders attribute such incidents practices to being exacerbated by family misunderstandings, lack of parental responsibilities, entrenched cultural and patriarchal beliefs, attitudes and norms towards children and women, gender based violence amongst others.

At the time of reporting, police had not visited the scene, and Kwiocwiny remains under community watch.

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