A Kiambu court has sentenced a Ugandan woman to life imprisonment for killing her 5-day old baby and disposing off the body in a pit latrine in Kiamumbi area of Kiambu County.
Susan Kayegi was convicted on her own plea of guilt after she was arraigned in court in April this year.
She appeared before the Kiambu Principal Magistrate Ms Grace Omodho charged that on 15 April 2021 at Kiamumbi area, she unlawfully murdered the 5-day old infant and thereafter dumped the body into a pit latrine within the estate.
She pleaded guilty as charged and was convicted accordingly by the magistrate, who noted that there was no other penalty for murder and concealing the act by discarding the body in a pit latrine.
According to the prosecution case, the accused had rented a house in a new apartment with a man who was identified as Hussein.
Five days later, neighbors heard the cries of a newborn baby and visited the house to congratulate the couple.
The neighbors were four women who also advised her to take the baby to the clinic for the mandatory immunization injections.
Three days later, the court learnt that the accused was instructed by Hussein to surrender the baby to its biological father who was said to have been living in Limuru.
When she traveled to Limuru to hand over the baby presumably to return and get married to Hussein, the father switched off his phone and did not show up to take up the baby.
Hussein had reportedly told the accused that he could not fend for another man’s baby and that was when they agreed on the mission that never yielded fruit.
After she returned, the hawk-eyed neighbors smelt a rat when they failed to hear any cries from the newborn baby and that was when they reported the matter to Kiamumbi Police Station, who upon investigations arrested her and arraigned her in court. She was given 14 days right of appeal.
By Lydia Shiloya
