New-born baby's body retrieved from pit latrine in Kirinyaga

Shocked residents of Ngurubani town gather in a compound where the body of a newborn baby boy was retrieved from a pit latrine on September 28, 2019. A woman suspected to have dumped the baby immediately after she gave birth was arrested. PHOTO | GEORGE MUNENE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • A neighbour who visited the toilet heard the baby crying and raised the alarm.
  • When police officers arrived, they found the baby was already dead they arrested the suspect
  • Mr Onditi aid the woman committed a very serious crime and she must face the law.

Police in Kirinyaga County have arrested a woman accused of killing her new-born baby boy by dumping him in a pit latrine.

She was arrested on Saturday and locked up at Wangu’ru Police Station for interrogation.

Mwea East Police Commander John Onditi confirmed that the suspect had been apprehended and that she would be charged in court after investigations are complete.

He said the woman committed a very serious crime and she must face the law.

RENTED HOUSE

According to residents, the woman gave birth secretly in a rented house in Ngurubani town and threw the infant into the latrine.

The residents said the woman gave birth at night, dumped the baby and returned to the house.

Moments later, her neighbour who visited the toilet heard the baby crying and raised the alarm, attracting other residents who reported the matter to the police.

The officers rushed to the scene and with the assistance of the county rescue team, managed to retrieve the body of the baby and took it to the mortuary.

DEAD

"When police arrived, they found the baby already dead and immediately arrested the suspect and took her away to the station," said Mr Antony Chomba, a village elder.

The residents said the woman comes from a rich family and they could not understand why she decided to dump her child.

"We were shocked when we heard that the woman who had no financial challenges had snuffed out the life of her baby. The police should carry out thorough investigations and have the woman punished according to the rule of law," a resident, Ms Rose Wanjiku, said.

A county employee, Mr John Kiama, said the latrine was so deep that the child could not have survived.