Teen mother in Homabay arrested after dumping newborn in a pit latrine

Police in Homa Bay have arrested a teenage mother who allegedly attempted to kill her newborn baby by throwing her newborn baby girl in a pit latrine.

The infant was found in the pit at a residential area in Rodin Kopany Township.

Residents said the girl gave birth on Saturday and threw her child in the pit latrine on Sunday.

After discarding the child, the girl pretended that she had not given birth.

A resident later discovered that the child had been dumped in the latrine. The residents mobilized one another and broke the slab that covered the pit latrine.

They managed to rescue the child from the pit and rushed her to Homa Bay Teaching and Referral Hospital for medication.

Hospital Acting Chief Executive Officer Vincent Oduor said they discovered that the baby had 20 per cent burns on her body.

The burns were on her back, chest and the neck. Her placenta had not been detached from the body.

“The baby’s body was burnt but not deeply,” Oduor said.

The CEO said the baby weighed 3.5 kilograms.

“The baby is receiving medical care in the newborn unit. She is in a stable condition and I believe she will be okay,” Oduor said.

Earlier on Tuesday, residents managed to trace the teenage mother and handed her over to police at Rodi Kopany Police station.

Homa Bay Sub-county Police Commander Emmanuel Kipalgat said they were interrogating the teen mother over the incident.

“We have the suspect in custody. We are probing her over the incident,” Kiplagat said.

In a separate incident, A 60-year-old man has been killed in Homa Bay County over suspected land dispute.

Peter Odawo was killed at Kamwangi Village, Kodumo West Sub- Location in Rachuonyo East Sub- county on Monday night.

Odawo was killed by two young men in the presence of his wife and three children.

The assailants who were armed with a panga and a metal rod reportedly entered Odawo’s home and told him to be ready for his death.

They finally pounced on him with the metal rod and hacked him with panga.

The Assistant Chief of Kodumo West sub- location Nelly Atata said she information of a young man who heard commotion in Odawo’s home. But when he went to the home, he found that the young men had assaulted the senior citizen seriously.

“There was a young man who went to the scene and spotted the people who assaulted the old man. The old man sustained serious panga cuts on the head during the attack,” Atata said.

The administrator said preliminary investigations had established that the attack was attributed to a land dispute.

The dispute was orchestrated by wrangles the senior citizen’s family had with some members of his clan.

She said they had also discovered that the men who killed the old man were member of his clan.

“Someone was able to identify the attackers before they ran away after the incident. We are collaborating with police who are looking for them,” Atata said.

The body was taken to Jawabu mortuary.