Entebbe Police Detain Woman After Newborn Found Dead at Grade B Hospital
Investigators probe alleged abandonment as cause of death remains unestablished
ENTEBBE, UGANDA — Police in Entebbe are holding a woman from Lugonjo for questioning following the death of a newborn baby who was allegedly abandoned at Grade B Hospital after birth and later found dead.
The woman, a resident of Nakayiza Street in Lugonjo, along Namiiro Swamp Road, was known in the community to have been pregnant. However, residents reportedly never saw the baby after she gave birth, prompting questions about the newborn’s whereabouts.
Preliminary information indicates that hospital records do not show a case involving the woman in which a baby died during delivery. Instead, the circumstances surrounding the newborn’s death emerged after community members began asking about the child.
According to accounts emerging during the investigation, the woman reportedly told people that she had left the baby at home under the care of a maid. Community members later went to her home to establish the newborn’s whereabouts, but the baby was allegedly not found there. Investigators reportedly discovered that the claims about the child being cared for by a maid were not true.
Investigators are also examining events at Grade B Hospital after the woman’s delivery. It is alleged that after giving birth, she left the newborn on the hospital bed and covered the baby. She reportedly told the nurse in charge that she was going to get something to eat, but allegedly never returned.
The baby is said to have remained at the hospital for a period of time before being discovered dead. The hospital later reported the incident to police after the mother failed to return, according to preliminary accounts.
Police subsequently launched a search for the woman. When she was located, she allegedly claimed the baby was at home with a maid. Officers reportedly took her to the house, but nothing was found. She was then asked where she had given birth, and the investigation led officers to Grade B Hospital, where the hospital had already reported that a woman had abandoned a dead baby. Preliminary accounts indicate the woman had given birth to a live baby.
There have been allegations that the baby may have been strangled or killed after birth and then covered and placed on the bed as if sleeping. However, police have not publicly established strangulation or any other cause of death. The allegations remain unverified and should not be treated as confirmed until investigators and medical authorities determine what happened.
Investigators are expected to examine the circumstances surrounding the baby’s abandonment, interview hospital staff and community members, and establish the exact cause and time of death.
The woman remains in police custody as investigations continue. Police have not yet announced whether any charges have been filed against her.
The investigation is ongoing, and the full circumstances surrounding the newborn’s death remain to be established.
Editor’s note: This report is based on preliminary accounts. Allegations remain unproven unless confirmed by authorities.
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