Mother, Daughter Arrested For Alleged Newborn Baby Theft At Masaka Regional Referral Hospital

Community Raises Concerns About Newborn Safety in Healthcare Facilities

Masaka, Uganda – In a shocking incident at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital, a 45-year-old mother, Zainab Asiimwe, and her 16-year-old daughter, Aisha Naluyange, residents of Kayirikitti village in Nyendo-Mukungwe division, have been apprehended for allegedly stealing a one-day-old baby.

The events unfolded when Mbabazi Charity, the mother of the newborn, entrusted her child to Naluyange while she and her husband went to purchase clothes for their infant. Upon their return, Naluyange claimed that the baby had been taken to the nursery for oxygen due to breathing difficulties. Suspicion arose when the mother, Mbabazi, discovered that her baby was not in the nursery and asked Naluyange to identify the doctor who had taken the child there. However, Naluyange claimed she couldn’t remember.

Lulaga Vicent, the baby’s father, became alarmed and started searching outside the maternity ward, where he encountered Zainab Asiimwe attempting to flee on a boda-boda with the baby. Confronting her, he asked if the child was his, to which Asiimwe denied and pointed to her daughter, Naluyange. Police at the facility intervened promptly, apprehending both Asiimwe and Naluyange.

The incident has left the community bewildered, prompting concerns about the safety and security of newborns in healthcare facilities. Authorities are now conducting investigations to establish a motive and ensure justice prevails in this unusual case.

Tusingiro Richard, the crime investigation officer at Masaka Central Police Station, commented, “As we speak, investigations have commenced, and the child is together with the parents. Asiimwe Zainab and her daughter Naluyange Aisha are going to be charged with stealing a child.”

Currently held at Masaka police station, both Naluyange and her mother have declined to comment on the charges against them. The community anxiously awaits further developments in the case, seeking reassurance about the safety of newborns in healthcare facilities.